The League of Blades
by Infinity Moment
Summary: Instead of a death game bringing our beloved characters together, it was an organization called the League of Blades, which hosts the World Freestyle Weapon Tournament. When Kazuto becomes the Japanese Representative, he will have to fight other representatives from all over the world, befriending some... and making enemies out of others. AU, full summary inside.
1. Chapter 1: I Made It!

The League of Blades

Chapter One: I Made It!

* * *

**Beginning A/N:**

**Well, yet another new fic! This one is different from the rest of my stories. This story takes place in an alternate universe, hence the "AU" in the summary. I'll give a summary, but there's also an in-depth explanation in the ending A/N, so if you read to there and like it, then I'll reward you with a new chapter! If not, well… I'm still going to continue this.**

**Here's the short summary:**

**Instead of a death game bringing our beloved characters together, it was an organization called the League of Blades, which hosts the World Freestyle Weapon Tournament. When Kazuto becomes the Japanese Representative, he will have to fight other representatives from all over the world, befriending some... and making enemies out of others. However, sinister things are happening behind the scenes, and Kazuto seems to be the victim of all of it. Not knowing whom to trust, Kazuto's world will be thrown into chaos. What will happen in this tournament? Only time will tell.**

**Have a fun read!**

* * *

The Japanese National Freestyle Tournament hosted by the League of Blades was being held in a Roman-style coliseum, seemingly the perfect place for a set of freestyle matches.

Wrong.

It was way too loud—everyone cheering profusely for the battle between the overnight stars, Kazuto and Suguha Kirigaya, who happen to be the famous dual-blading siblings.

As we walked from opposite sides of the arena to the tournament mat, my sister and I shared a look that said everything the other wanted to hear.

_I'm not gonna hold back._

**"Ladies and gentlemen, we're about to see a truly amazing sight! The famous dual-wielding siblings, Suguha Kirigaya and Kazuto Kirigaya, the Yami No Keshin, fighting in a relentless battle to decide who will move on to the finals!"** the announcer yelled, blissfully unaware of how far our sibling rivalry went.

_Calm down, Kazuto. I made it this far, and _nothing_ will get in my way, not even my sister! I'm sorry, Suguha, but I'm not backing down!_

"Are you ready, Sugu?"

I drew my swords.

"Always," she replied coldly, doing the same.

**"Are you two ready? Three… two… one… and… GO!"**

We rushed at each other with insane speed, our swords immediately clashing in showers of sparks.

_Left, right, block, diagonal up, double down, double diagonal, block, spin—_

Suguha smirked. "That all you've got? I _know_ you're better than this!" she hissed.

"I was about to ask you the same question! Let's turn up the heat, shall we?"

We increased our already insane speed to new levels, continuing to clash, but…

I was faster.

_Right, up, diagonal down, double up, downward cross—_

This time it was my turn to smirk. Her endurance was slowly wearing down, and I could see sweat pouring down her face.

"You're _seriously_ out of practice, sis! If you can't even handle this speed, then you won't be able to win the finals, let alone represent our nation!"

"Shut up!"

_Just the reaction I was looking for._

She jabbed with her right sword, which I batted downward, watching it lodge itself in the ground.

"No!"

"Yes."

I knocked her other sword out of her hand, sending it flying into the air. I put my right sword to her neck, ending the fight.

**"And the winner is… KAZUTO KIRIGAYA! Everybody give a hand to our finalist, the Yami No Keshin!"**

There were cheers all around the coliseum-like arena, and from the corner of my eye, I saw someone leaving. Someone in a brown cloak, with what looked to be a sword of some kind inside it. Apparently sensing me staring, the figure turned around and stared back at me as if contemplating something. Then the person sat back down, waiting to watch the final match.

_Who is that?_

Suguha walked up to me, smiling, though it didn't reach her eyes. "You've improved, brother. Good luck." And with that, she shook my hand and left.

_We had the same dream. I'm sorry, sis._

* * *

"Good work, kid. You've got ten minutes before the next fight begins, so I'd recommend getting some rest," my supervisor said.

"Thanks, pops."

"I told you not to call me that!"

"Whatever," I said with an amused smile as I watched him seethe.

I looked around the room, noticing some training machines made to look like real humans. "Do those still work?" I asked politely, pointing to them.

"Yeah, be my guest."

"Thanks."

I walked over to one of them and turned it on. It immediately spun around, a wood sword in each of its hands.

I went over to the practice rack and got two wooden swords of my own, preparing to fight.

"The next guy uses a sword-and-shield combo, so give it a shield. Don't tell anyone I told you that, 'kay?"

"You got it, pops!"

"I told you not to—whatever. Just get some training in before the next match, got it?"

"Yeah!"

And with that, I began to train.

* * *

This time as I walked to the tournament mat, the noise was even louder than before.

When I arrived at the center of the mat, there was a man with white hair, red eyes and a black suit just standing there, staring at me.

_The textbook definition of creepy._

"May the best swordsman win," I said.

"I intend to," the man responded, smirking devilishly.

I drew my swords from my back, getting into a battle stance. He drew his sword from his tower shield, doing the same.

_He had a sheath in his shield?!_

**"This is it, folks! The fight that everyone's been waiting for!" **the announcer shouted enthusiastically.** "The mysterious man versus the overnight star, the Yami No Keshin, Kazuto Kirigaya! These fighters are the best in all of Japan! And… three… two… one… GO!"**

We rushed at each other, even faster than in my duel with Suguha. Still, we seemed to be even in speed.

_Left, right, double diagonal down, block, up, left, right, left—_

I couldn't land a single hit on him, and vice versa.

_Down, up, diagonal spin, parry, jab, block, dodge—_

He made a quick sideways swipe at my head. I ducked just in time, a single strand of hair getting sliced off.

"RAA!" I screamed, jabbing and making a single scratch on his cheek.

_Point one._

Immediately afterward, he bashed me with his shield, sending me flying back to the edge of the mat.

_Crap!_

He ran at me, swinging his sword down at my head. I rolled out of the way just in time to avoid the strike, getting up behind him and swinging at his back. He blocked it with his sword just in time, turning around and me sending me flying with his shield yet again.

This time, however, I landed on my feet, immediately charging at him again.

_CLASH, CLASH, CLASH!_

Sparks flew in all directions, but I didn't care. I was in the zone. Nothing could break my focus.

_Left, up, cross, double diagonal down, double left, double diagonal up—_

I jumped up and slashed down on his shield with such force that it propelled me up into the air. I flew over and behind him, landing and immediately turning around to slash at him. Unfortunately, my slash came into contact with his shield yet again.

_Faster… I HAVE TO BE FASTER!_

* * *

(?)

I looked at the arena with interest in the black-haired boy, who seemingly sprang up to fame overnight, taking on one of the strongest warriors in the nation.

_This kid is good. To think he could stand up to him…_

* * *

(Kazuto)

We were at a complete stalemate. He couldn't break through my two-sword style, and I couldn't find a weakness in his sword-and-shield style.

C_LASH, CLASH, CLASH!_

"Just give up already! You know I've won, so just surrender the match already!" the man shouted cockily.

"Don't throw a victory party before you win!" I yelled while observing his movements.

_That's it! I can use that!_

While he was talking, I found a weakness that I could easily exploit—he became less focused while talking.

"If you're so confident in your victory, then beat me already!" I shouted at him.

"Why you—Aagh!" The man's response was cut off when I beat on his shield with both swords, catching him off balance.

I pulled his shield out of his grip with my right sword, then swung blindingly fast with my left, stopping just centimeters away from his head.

**"And the winner is… KAZUTO KIRIGAYA OF THE BLACK CATS! Everybody give a hand to our new sixteen-year-old champion, the one who will represent our entire nation in the world tournament!"**

Cheering was heard all around the arena, nearly busting my eardrums. I looked around, finding the faces of my various fans. For some odd reason, most of them were female.

Then, I saw the person in the brown cloak again. The person looked at me, then stood from their seat and left.

"Damn… well, you're good, kid. Ain't no doubt about that," the man said, panting. "My name's Yenno Kozuki, by the way. It's nice to meet the star player of the Black Cats, the Yami No Keshin. Sorry I was acting so cocky before, but I wanted to test you, as a favor to your facility master."

"So… you were acting the whole time? Does that mean you _let_ me win?"

"What?! Hell no! My pride would _never_ allow that! You won fair-and-square, buddy. Now, I'll be going. Ja Ne, Yami No Keshin." And with that, he shook my hand and walked away.

My facility mates ran up to me, singing their praises.

"Dude, that was _awesome_! You just beat the last national champion!" Ducker yelled, positively ecstatic.

"What?"

_The last champion?!_

"That was amazing!" Sasamaru praised.

"I agree," Tetsuo said happily.

"Kirito, you've made my father proud," Keita said, walking forward with Sachi in tow.

"Indeed. Kirito, you've made us all proud. You'll be going to the world tournament tomorrow! You now represent our nation! This calls for a celebration!" Keita's father exclaimed, laughing heartily afterward.

"Hell yeah!" Ducker shouted with glee.

I merely smiled softly. I looked into Sachi's eyes, and I saw her praising me in a way her mouth never could.

_Sometimes I wish you could talk, Sachi._

Indeed, Sachi was a mute. She had experienced something traumatic in her childhood that had left her completely unwilling to speak, even to her closest friends. Nobody knew what happened to her, not even me, and I was her closest friend.

It didn't matter, though. I could somehow understand exactly what she wanted to say just by looking into her eyes, and vice versa. I was like a translator for the rest of her friends.

She used to write on various things to communicate to others, but when we first met, we instantly understood each other through mere eye contact. Then, through her, I became friends with everyone else.

_But I still understand you, so I guess it's all right._

* * *

"Cheers!" we all shouted, raising our glasses into the air.

As everyone else dug in, Sachi and I ate slowly.

"What's the matter? Why are you so sad?" Keita asked Sachi and me with a concerned look on his face.

"He has to leave us."

_What the?!_

"Sachi?!" Ducker exclaimed.

"You… talked…" I whispered sadly, knowing what she was trying to say.

_Her voice is so beautiful… but…_

"We aren't allowed to come with him to the World Championship matches," Sachi said, tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

"WHAT?!" Everyone in the room shouted, save for me, Sachi, and Keita's father, Daisuke.

"Is this true, Father?" Keita asked sadly.

"Yes. When he leaves for China tomorrow to compete in the Asian Bracket, he will leave alone. Not even his family is allowed to attend the tournament."

"B-but why?! We want to support him!" Ducker was furious.

"If I still had my influence, I would have been able to make it so, but that influence no longer belongs to me."

"Old man… I'm going to go to bed. Tomorrow is the day I leave for China, and I'll need my rest…"

"All right, Kirito. Rest well."

* * *

I couldn't sleep. I kept thinking about the next day, caught between elation and depression.

_This is my chance! My chance to achieve my dream! But… I'll be abandoning my friends to do it. If I lose, then what? I'll have left my friends for nothing…_

I knew I had no chance of falling asleep any time soon, so I decided to give my room one last look before I left in the morning.

"Kirito…?"

"Sachi…?" I asked, still not used to hearing her speak.

"Do you… not like my voice?"

"Where did that come from? No, I think your voice is beautiful. Almost as beautiful as you," I said.

"Thank you… ne, Kirito."

"Yeah?" I asked gently.

"If I were to say that I wanted you to stay… would you?"

I didn't know what to do. I was completely paralyzed. _She… she wants me to stay? I… I want to stay with her, but… I want to accomplish my lifelong dream more, even if just by a tiny amount. I don't want to hurt her feelings… AAGH, this is too hard!_

"Just kidding! Don't worry, I would never get in the way of your dream. Your happiness is my happiness as well."

"Sachi… thank you. You've always been there for me ever since we met. Even though you couldn't talk… you found your way deep into my heart. I'm glad I've had as good a friend as you by my side for so long. And after the tournament is over, I promise that I'll come back to you."

"All right, it's a promise. You'd better win, Kirito. Well, I'm off to bed. Good night," Sachi whispered.

I grabbed hold of her arm. "Wait… sleep here beside me for tonight, like when we were younger."

She looked at me with wide eyes and red cheeks. Her eyes softened, and she said, "All right… a-as a going-away gift…"

"Thanks… my beautiful Sachi," I said drowsily, immediately falling asleep.

That night, my dreams were filled with peace, love, longing, and a new hope. A hope that one day, I would be able to return as the victor of the world championship… and live with Sachi for the rest of our lives.

_Aishiteru… Sachi._

* * *

When I woke up, Sachi was nowhere to be found. I got up, remembering with sorrow that I would have to leave my friends.

I began packing slowly, looking around at the room that I'd probably never see again.

* * *

When I arrived at the airport, I saw him… or her… again. That person in the brown cloak, walking toward me. "I've been watching your matches ever since I came to Japan to sightsee. You're quite the fighter. Would you like to sit with me on the plane?" the person said when she reached me.

_That was random._

"O-okay… but could you take off your cloak so I know who you are?"

_I don't know who this person is, but something draws me to her._

"Sure. I was going to have to take it off to get on the plane anyway. Let's wait until you're done saying goodbye to your friends, though."

I heard the sound of frantic footsteps running on the airport floor. I turned around to see the other members of the Black Cats running toward me, with Sachi and Ducker at the lead.

"Wait, man! You can't leave without saying goodbye to us!"

"Haha, you're right, Ducker. I'll miss you all, but I promise that I'll come back as soon as I win!"

Tetsuo extended his hand toward me, and I took it as he said, "I have faith in you, man. You'll win for all of us!"

I shook everyone else's hands, but just before I got to Sachi, Keita's father came up to us, huffing and puffing. "You're not going to leave without saying goodbye to this old timer, are you?"

He extended his hand, and I shook it warmly. He pulled me into a hug, which I didn't resist. He had become like a grandfather in the years that I had spent with everyone.

"Do us proud," he said, with tears gathering in his eyes. When he released me, I looked at him and said, "You got it, old man."

Just before I left for the airport with my cloaked friend, I walked up to Sachi and hugged her.

I put my mouth to her ear and said, "I'll be back, Sachi… for you and only you."

* * *

Once the cloaked traveler and I were at the entrance to the plane, she took off her cloak to reveal stunning chestnut hair and matching eyes, accompanied by a gorgeous figure.

_Beautiful._

"It's not nice to stare, you know. Anyway, my name's Asuna. It's nice to meet you, Yami No Keshin," the beauty said.

And with that, we walked up the stairs and onto the plane.

_This is it! My life as a tournament fighter begins!_

* * *

**Ending A/N:**

**I realize that I made this first chapter a little shorter than I wanted it to be, but I'm going to make the rest of them longer, simply because I hate overly-short chapters, whether I'm reading them **_**or**_** writing them.**

**Oh, and by the way, Yami No Keshin means, "Swordsman of Darkness", just to let you know.**

**Don't worry, there **_**will**_** be Kirisuna in later chapters, but even in the anime and the light novels, he loved Sachi first. Even when we get Kirisuna, I'm still gonna have it be an Asuna/Kirito/Sachi fic, not just Kirisuna. I simply can't put Sachi in a story and not pair her with Kirito, and the same goes for Asuna.**

**Okay, here's the in-depth explanation of this universe:**

**Instead of a video game being what brought everyone together, it was League of Blades, or the LoB for short. The LoB is an organization that hosts weapon fighting (not just sword fighting) matches of all kinds, but mostly freestyle matches, where any weapon choice can be used.  
The LoB holds a freestyle world tournament every five years, and in between, they have every level of tournament up to the nationals.  
Kirito is a high school student that just barely got into the Japanese National Freestyle Tournament with his dual sword style. He eventually won the tournament, earning him a spot in the world freestyle tournament, where he will fight various other players from the LNs and anime, befriending some… and making enemies of others.**

**So, sorry to say, that means that there are no sword skills.**

**Also, the guilds become facilities that train people to participate in LoB-sponsored tournaments, so picture all of the famous guilds as… Pokémon gyms of sorts, located in various countries around the world. The Black Cats are Kirito's facility, of course.**

**Well, that's about it!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Sword Art Online, its video game, or any of its characters!**

**See ya!**


	2. Chapter 2: The Asian Bracket

The League of Blades

Chapter Two: The Asian Bracket

* * *

_Once the cloaked traveler and I were at the entrance to the plane, she took off her cloak to reveal stunning chestnut hair and matching eyes, accompanied by a beautiful figure._

_Beautiful._

"_It's not nice to stare, you know. My name's Asuna. It's nice to meet you, Yami No Keshin," the beauty now known to me as Asuna said._

_And with that, we walked up the stairs and onto the plane._

_**This is it! My life as a tournament fighter begins!**_

* * *

We had been sitting for hours, but neither of us said anything. I was getting seriously annoyed.

_Why the hell would she invite me to sit with her if she doesn't even want to talk with me?!_

"Sooo… where in China are you headed for once we land?"

"I'm going to watch the first world match," Asuna whispered.

"B-but… all the tickets for the Asian segment of the tournament sold out weeks ago…"

"I'm a VIP guest," she replied simply.

"Really? How'd you manage that?"

"I have no need to tell you."

_Well..._

I found myself at a dead end in the conversation, so I turned to stare out the window. Thirty minutes later, I grew tired of the silence, so I tried again.

"You don't look Chinese or Japanese. Where are you from?"

"I think I was born in England, but I've been traveling all my life, so I'm not sure," she said, turning to face me with a smile. "What part of Japan do you come from, Yami No Keshin?"

"I have a name. Just call me Kazuto. I… I don't know which part I'm from, actually. My parents died when I was an infant, and all I know is that I was raised by another family that had ties to mine."

"Oh… I'm sorry I brought up bad memories for you. Wait… is your younger sister related by blood?"

"No, but I don't think she knows that, so I make sure I don't tell her. I don't want her to alienate herself from me any more than she already has," I said, looking down at the ground.

"I'm sorry, I seem to ask the worst questions, don't I?"

"Don't worry about it, it's fine."

Silence ensued. This time, she tried to break the tension. "So, why do you want to compete in the world championship?"

I tried to explain. "I've… I've always just _felt_ something within myself. It's like something inside of me wants, no, _needs_ to fight. I felt that this something had a purpose for wanting me to fight so much, so I took up the sword… well… swords, in my case. Then, I discovered that I had a natural talent for it. When that happened, my sister got really mad, as she had been training her whole life to reach the level that I started at. So she worked harder, which in turn made me work harder. We developed a rivalry, and eventually she ended up distancing herself from me.

"I guess that I want to win the tournament for the people I care about. You know, to show them I did it. Hopefully… if I win, my sister will stop distancing herself from me… and love me again. And of course, now that I've left them all, I can't come back without that trophy, can I?" I finished with a wide smile.

_Though that's not the full reason…_

"Kazuto, you've got a good heart, but a bad head," Asuna said, her grin doing nothing to reinforce her insult.

"Hehe, I get that a lot."

At this, we started giggling… but then it escalated to full-on laughter. When one of the flight attendants came and told us to quiet down, we stopped and looked at each other in amazement.

"It almost seems like we're already good friends," Asuna said happily, but with a sad smile.

"What, we're not? I considered you a friend a while back, Asuna!" I said, smiling happily.

We burst out laughing again, forcing the same flight attendant to stop us.

"Did you mean that?" Asuna asked, sounding uncharacteristically timid.

"Of course!"

"Thanks for that. You're my first Japanese friend."

"And you're my first British one. Let's stay together, at least until the Asian Bracket ends."

"Yeah."

* * *

When we got off the plane, we were bombarded with the festivities of a marketing district getting ready for a large event.

Paper lanterns with Chinese kanji saying, "Good luck!" lined the streets. People were bustling about in bliss, preparing their shops for the Asian Bracket matches that were scheduled to begin tomorrow at dawn.

"Hey there! You two don't seem like you're from around here, so allow me to show you around!" someone from behind me said in perfect Japanese.

Turning around, I noticed that the man speaking looked in no way even _remotely_ Chinese. He had short red hair, red stubble on his chin, and was noticeably taller than most people in the area. He smiled at me, and, as if knowing what I was thinking, said, "I'm not one hundred percent Chinese, as you might be able to tell. My name is Klein, my mother was from another country, and my father is half Dutch, so people usually mistake me for another foreigner. Anyway, let's get going!"

We followed him around, marveling at the things we saw.

"And that was a whirlwind tour of Beijing, my friends!"

"Thanks for showing us around, Klein. Now, I have to find my hotel, and… well, I don't know where she's staying."

"Which hotel are you looking for, exactly?" Klein asked me. I heard a huff come from Asuna's direction.

"Let's see…" I said, pulling a piece of paper out of my pocket. "The Royal Firebird Inn."

Klein's eyes widened. "That's the most luxurious hotel in the city!"

"_Yeah, I'm a participant in the Asian Bracket,"_ is what I wanted to say, but I didn't want to drive him away. So instead I said, "Well, let's just say that my family has connections."

"Cool!"

"Hey, that's where I'm going to be staying!" Asuna stated in shock.

"Cool, that means I only have to make one more trip!" Klein said, quite pleased.

"If it's really a bother, then you can just—"

"No, it's not a bother at all! It's just that I promised my girlfriend that I'd come over in an hour or so, and it's sort of a long trip. But don't worry, I still have time to take you two lovebirds to your hotel."

I stood there, my eyebrow twitching. _Note to self: This guy gets really annoying when you're around him for too long._

Still, I put up with the annoyance as he led us to the Royal Firebird Inn, by _foot_ I might add.

_Why can't we just use a car?_

* * *

Once we got there, he pointed it out to us.

"All right, this is where I leave you guys! See ya!"

As he walked away, he seemed to remember something. "Oh, and good luck in the Asian Bracket, Yami No Keshin!"

_How in the—_

"Hey, why don't we go inside to see where our rooms are?" Asuna suggested, snapping me out of my confusion.

"Sure."

When we walked in I was shocked speechless by the sheer beauty of the place. Red chandeliers hung in various places from the ceiling, giving off a crimson light to everything below them. The hotel had five floors, and every one of them appeared more luxurious than the last. The ground floor consisted of the lobby, a large indoor pool, and a five-star restaurant - at least based on the expressions I saw on the customers' faces when they ate the delicious-looking food they were being served.

Asuna, however, did not look impressed, but instead looked like she had seen this all before. _Her family must be really rich._

As we walked up to the front desk, I was still looking around in awe.

"您好, 请问我可以帮助您的吗?" the lady at the desk said… or asked… I really couldn't tell.

I looked on, feeling extremely stupid. _Crap, I forgot! I don't know Chinese!_

"Leave this to me, Kazuto," Asuna whispered.

"他是一个竞争对手联盟在世界游泳锦标赛的刀片式服务器。 他的名字是Kazuto Kirigaya, 和我是他guest虚拟机。"

"啊, 你必须是他的女朋友! 好了, 你有房0在第五层。 很开心,两个伤心!" the woman said cheerily.

"我不是他的女朋友!" Asuna huffed.

"Well, let's go, Kazuto. We've got a long day ahead of us, and it's already one in the morning. We need to get some rest," Asuna said, pouting for some reason.

"Okay… wait, do we have rooms next to each other, or what? You're leading us in the same direction."

"Nope! We're sharing a room!" she said cheerily.

My brain decided to be uncooperative and briefly shut down.

"Wha—why?!" I shouted, earning looks from the people around us. "Wait… you never had a place to stay at all, did you?"

"Nope! But since you're a nice guy, I figured you'd let me stay with you," Asuna said with a grin.

"You could've asked first…"

"But then I wouldn't have seen your reaction!"

I gaped wordlessly, my finger limply pointing somewhat in her direction. She looked most amused by this.

_This girl…_

"Plus, you apparently can't speak Chinese, so I would've had to speak anyway," she said matter-of-factly.

_She has a point… still… a girl in my hotel room?!_

"So, we're in room twenty-seven on the fifth floor. Come on, let's go!" Asuna said, taking my hand and dragging me to the elevator.

"Wait up!" I yelled as she pulled me along.

"You're supposed to be extremely fast, so I shouldn't have to wait for you!"

_Annoying girl!_

* * *

When we finally got to the elevator, I realized something. _Every wall of the elevator is made of glass! I can see through to the other side!_

Indeed I could. On the other side of the elevator was a room filled with hot tubs in which various important-looking old people were resting their bones.

_Shriveled up old guys. Gross._

Once we got inside the elevator and pressed the button for the fifth floor, I decided to find out some information. "I have a few questions, Asuna. Why did you come to this nation if you didn't find a place to stay beforehand? Why were you watching me at the Nationals? Why did you lie to me and Klein about your having a place to stay here?"

"I have a few answers, Kazuto," Asuna said with gentle sarcasm, then, "One: I did have a place to stay, but I figured it'd be much more fun to stay with you. Two: you're _literally_ the sole person that made the Black Cats rise to fame. Three: I figured it would be much more fun to stay with you."

I resisted the urge to face palm and mumbled, "And… just out of curiosity, where did you make plans to stay?"

"The cheapest inn in the entire city."

_Damn it! I give up._"Whatever, let's just go. We're at our floor now, so show me the way."

Asuna looked at me sheepishly. "Yeah… about that… all I know is the room number, so I don't know how to get to our room."

_"You cannot be serious!"_

"Hehe…"

And with that, we set out to look for our room. On the way, we noticed that the fifth floor had pretty much everything. We saw a video game room big enough to fit at least fifty people, _another _indoor pool, another restaurant, and a bar that seemed to have every alcoholic beverage I had ever heard of and _more._

And that was just the _west _wing.

* * *

Once we finally got to our room, I rushed in and leaped face-first onto the one bed in the room.

_Wait… one bed…?_

I frantically got up and started looking for another bed, to no avail. Then, I saw my salvation. _A sofa! Yes! Let's see if it can unfold into a sofa sleeper._

Once I confirmed that the sofa could indeed unfold into a bed, I started taking off the cushions one by one.

"What are you doing?" Asuna asked as she watched me putting the cushions on the floor.

"I'm unfolding the mattress, what does it look like?"

"Weird."

"Whatever. I just don't like to sleep with a girl in the same bed."

"Oh, okay," Asuna said. "That's all right."

_Did I just hear a… disappointed tone?_

I lay down on the sofa sleeper, closing my eyes and yawning. "Well, we'd better get to sleep. We've got a long day ahead of us."

"Correction: _you_ have a long day ahead of _you_. I just get to sit back and watch the fireworks."

That was the last thing I heard before succumbing to a deep sleep.

* * *

"_Kazuto… Kazuto…"_

"_Ugh… Sachi? What's going on? Are you okay?" I got up, seeing Sachi standing before me._

"_KAZUTO! HELP!"_

_Sachi stretched out her hand in my direction while a wormhole of sorts appeared behind her, sucking her in._

"_SACHI!" I tried to grab her hand, but I was too late. She completely disappeared into the wormhole._

"_If you wish to get your friend back, you must win," a man in red armor said impassively._

"_I have to win the world tournament?"_

"_No." With that, he walked into the wormhole and joined Sachi._

* * *

"NOOO! SACHI!" I screamed, falling off the sofa sleeper with a _thud_.

"Hey, Kazuto, are you…" *Yawn* "okay?" Asuna asked groggily.

"I'm sorry I woke you…" I said sadly, remembering my dream.

"It's okay, I've been awake for a few minutes. I was just too lazy to get up."

"What time is it?" I asked, yawning again.

"Nearing five-thirty in the morning. We should get ready to go, seeing as the tournament is in about two hours."

"All right, but which way do we go?"

"I think the stadium is in the south part of Beijing and it's bound to be huge, so I think we won't miss it if we keep going south," Asuna said, sounding like the expert she was not.

_This girl… this girl is either brilliant or just really stupid._

"Well… let's go," I said.

* * *

As we walked through the streets, I couldn't help but notice all the banners and other decorations touting various forms of, "We are invincible!" and, "Crush all competition!"

I shivered.

It didn't help that Asuna had to stop at every jewelry shop we found, where all I noticed were trinkets saying the same things that were on the banners that lined the streets.

"Well, we're _obviously_ lost now… what do we do now, o mighty Asuna?"

Just then, I saw what we had been looking for. Directly in front of us was a stadium so large that it put to shame the stadium that hosted the Japanese Nationals.

"Whoa…"

The stadium was shaped like a giant dome, its color a deep crimson. The Japanese kanji saying of "Fuurinkazan versus the World!" was emblazoned in a lighter red and white above the entrance.

Triumphant, Asuna said, "See? I told you we weren't lost."

"You never told me that."

"Whatever. Let's just go inside and get ready."

"All right, let's go!"

After we got inside, I was immediately bombarded with fans of all kinds going to the stands to watch the first round. It was the only round hosted today due to the eight-match schedule.

"Hey, Yami No Keshin! How's it going?"

I turned around to find Klein in front of me, smiling a wide smile. "Klein? What are you doing here?"

"Oh, that's right! I never told you! I'm the representative for China!"

I was speechless. _I'm going to fight this guy?!_

"C'mon, let's go see the tournament bracket!" Klein said, grabbing our arms and leading us to the place that showed the tournament lineup.

I looked on in shock. Klein and I were on opposite sides of the lineup, which meant I might have to face him in the finals. That wasn't what truly shocked me, though. No, the true shock was that I had to fight Eugeo, my childhood friend who had moved to Russia when I was young. Not only that, but I had to fight him in the first round.

_No…_

"Whoa, you have the worst luck! He's the Russian representative! He's tied with me in strength, if not stronger!" said Klein, looking at the bracket with contempt.

"Well then…" I said. "I guess I'll just have to give it everything I've got!"

"That's the spirit, Yami No Keshin!"

"Okay, enough," I said sternly, turning away from the bracket to give him a hard look. "My name is _Kazuto Kirigaya_, so stop calling me by my title and call me by my name."

"All right, cool! I wasn't sure if you wanted me to do that, and… better safe than sorry, you know?"

_He can be pretty considerate, even to his rivals! I wish I could do the same._

"Well, I'd better get going! I'll see ya later, Kirito!" Klein said, turning around and walking away.

"All right… bye."

* * *

I looked around to find the training rooms, spotting them in the direction opposite where Klein was headed. As we walked over to the man guarding the rooms, I remembered my lack of knowledge of the Chinese spoken language.

"I'll take care of this, you just wait for me to finish talking to him," Asuna whispered in my ears. We walked up to the man, and Asuna did her thing. Once we were done, she turned to me and said, "Let's go."

Once we were halfway to the training rooms, I stopped and asked, "Wait, wouldn't you just go to the room where the VIPs wait for the matches to start?"

"Nope! I got permission to watch you train!"

_Great._

Incredulous, I asked, "And just how in the heck did you manage that?"

"That's classified."

I sighed, giving up. "Whatever."

* * *

We walked into the training room labeled, "Tournament Participants," and I was surprised to find every single participant there, training in their various weapon styles.

"Well, it's been a while, hasn't it?" said a deep voice from behind me.

I turned around to find a boy about my age with medium-length flaxen hair and a build similar to mine. He wore denim shorts and a T-shirt that matched his green eyes.

"Eugeo? Yeah, it really has been a while. Seven years, I think."

"Sounds about right. I never thought you'd pick up a single sword again, let alone _two_. Congrats on making it to the LoB world tournament! Too bad we have to battle each other in the first round."

"Don't remind me," I said glumly.

"Ahem."

"Oh, right. Anyway, this is my new friend, Asuna. We met at the Japanese nationals, and she just happened to be coming here, so we agreed to stick together until the Asian Bracket is over."

"Really? She doesn't _look _Asian_,_" Eugeo said curiously.

"That's what I thought too when I first met her!"

At this, we shared a laugh.

"Well, you two seem to have a lot of catching up to do, so I'll just go sit over there," Asuna said, walking away briskly.

"What's her deal?" I pondered.

"Hey, Kazuto. Wanna go train while we catch up with each other?" Eugeo suggested.

"Yeah!"

"Hahaha! And then I said—" Eugeo was cut off when an announcement blared out to us. I didn't know what it said, but I had a general idea.

"Let's go, man! We've got the first match, so we can't be late!" Eugeo said, packing up his weapons while I did the same.

* * *

The tournament mat was _huge_. Ungodly huge.

_Good, this means I have a lot of running room._

When the announcer came to the podium, I realized that I would have no idea when to start.

Then, right as the announcer started speaking, the board behind him started to show Japanese and Russian characters scrolling across it, translating what the announcer was saying.

I read, **"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the first round of the Asian Bracket of the League of Blades World Freestyle Tournament! As I'm sure you're aware, the first match is going to be Japan versus Russia! Give a round of applause for these two amazing teen competitors!"**

Wild cheering and clapping could be heard throughout the entire dome, making my ears hurt.

As the announcer continued talking, we walked toward each other from opposite sides of the mat, drawing our weapons.

He wielded a sword in his left hand, which was covered by a glove… with a blade protruding from the middle of its back pad.

"May the best man win!" Eugeo said cheerily.

"All right… just promise me something, Eugeo."

"Sure, what's up?" he asked.

"No matter who wins, just promise me that we'll still be friends," I said sincerely.

"Forever and always, Kazuto! Now, let's make this one hell of a battle! Don't hold back!"

"You got it!" I said, smirking deviously.

The board showed the count down.

_**Three… two… one… GO!**_

And we charged.

We ran at each other, far surpassing normal human speeds.

_Left, right, block, jab, dodge—_

Still, I knew I could go faster. _Faster, faster! EVEN FASTER!_

As I slashed, I saw the winds pick up, getting more and more vicious. Still, we kept on clashing, disregarding that we were childhood friends, disregarding everything around us. We were in the zone.

All we cared about was winning. Nothing else mattered. All we could imagine was that trophy sitting on that desk in our rooms. All we could see were each other's bodies… and movements… and blades.

_FASTER!_

As if responding to my plea, my body took on an all-new level of speed, leaving my previous top speed in the dust. Everything became a blur. All I could see were his blades and my own.

The wind became more vicious, but somehow my swords were able to cut through the gale as if it were butter. Soon, the wind subsided, and I kept on slashing as if nothing had happened.

It was evident that Eugeo was having a hard time keeping up with my wild strikes by the way he grunted every time I hit his sword.

In fact, all I hit was his sword.

_Left, right, down, spin, CLEAVE—_

I cleaved his sword in two, slashing it from both sides simultaneously.

_All that's left is his dagger-glove._

"KURAAAAAGH!" I screamed, spinning and breaking his dagger-glove with my left sword… and putting my right sword to his neck.

We stood there in silence, his shocked face staring into my wild one. Eventually, I calmed back down.

Before I could say anything, the announcer yelled out what I assumed to be, "The winner is: KAZUTO KIRIGAYA!"

"Whew… that was one hell of a battle! Congrats, man! You're moving on to the next round!" Eugeo said with a smile, and somehow I could tell he was being sincere.

"Thanks, man. No hard feelings, right?"

"Man, there is no way in _hell_ I could hold a grudge against _anyone_, and you know it! Anyway, I'm gonna go train. You should probably meet up with Asuna, seeing as she looked kinda lonely when she was just sitting there all by herself. I bet you she's itchin' to see you right now!" Eugeo said, turning around to leave.

"Oh, wait!" he said. "I forgot something." He turned around and walked back to me. "You'd better win this tournament."

He put out his fist, which I met with my own. "You expect anything less?"

"True enough. All right, I gotta go, that training robot's a callin'. See ya, Kazuto!" he yelled, running off the mat and out of the arena.

I turned around and exited the arena, going back to the front to meet up with Asuna. _She'll probably be around the front door… well, if she waited for me._

* * *

Sure enough, at the stadium's exit was Asuna, talking to someone on her cell phone. When she noticed me, she hurriedly put it away and rushed over to me.

"I saw everything! That was an awesome victory! Congratulations on making it to the second round."

"Talking with your boyfriend?" I asked snidely.

"Why, you jealous?" she asked in the same tone.

"Nope."

"Oh, that's right! You have that Sachi chick."

"Yeah, exac— Wait! No! Sachi's been kidnapped! I just know it!" I shouted.

"What?"

"Yeah, this guy with silver hair and red armor took her," I said, trying desperately to calm my nerves.

"And you know this how…?"

"I saw it in a dream."

"Uh…is that so…?" she said, her tone and raised eyebrow conveying a hefty amount of doubt.

"You don't believe me, do you?"

"No, I do! It's just… you know what, never mind," she said, flicking her eyes away.

"Okay… well, we should probably go back to the hotel," I said._This is getting really awkward._

"Don't you want to see the rest of the matches?" Asuna queried.

"Don't _you_? You _were_ waiting by the front door for _me,_" I shot back.

"Touché. Well then, let's go!" she said, running out the door.

_There's no way to get to Sachi right now. There just aren't any leads! I guess I'll have to put that aside for now._

* * *

Remarkably, we didn't veer even remotely off track, unlike last time when Asuna just _had_ to stop at every jewelry shop we found along the way.

When we got back to the hotel, I found Eugeo waiting for us.

"Weren't you going to train?" I asked him.

"I was. There are training rooms set up here, just for the Asian bracket," he said.

"Really? Where?"

"On the fifth floor, right next to the bar and grill. Strange place to put a training room, huh?"

"I'll say! Well then, let's go. Asuna, I'll meet you at our room in an hour, okay?"

"Fine," she huffed, stomping away instead of walking.

"Wow, she's mad. You should probably talk to her after we're finished training," Eugeo said, looking shocked.

"Yeah, you're right. Hey, want to spar against each other instead of against the training robots?" I suggested.

"No way, man. You're so strong it's scary. I really just want to watch you, you know, to see if you can pull off that wild ability again. You definitely didn't show that level of speed and strength when we were training together, so I want to see it again _without_ being on the receiving end."

"You think it's an ability? Well, maybe it is. I felt my drive to win grow stronger than it's ever been before, and then I felt my body… _respond_ to that drive."

"Well, whatever it is, I want to see it again! Come on, let's go train!"

* * *

After an hour of training, we still hadn't been able to see that same level of force that I had used in the match.

"Well, I'm going to go meet up with Asuna, so see you later, okay?" I said to Eugeo, beginning to pack my things.

"All right, cool. I'm going to be training for a couple of hours, so come back if Asuna gets mad at you again."

"All right. See ya," I said, leaving the room.

* * *

I found my way back to our room with no trouble, and found Asuna asleep on the bed.

_She looks so cute when she sleeps._

Walking over to her, I put my hand on her shoulder. "Asuna, wake up. I want to talk with you."

*Yawn* "What is it?"

"I just wanted to say… I'm sorry for ignoring you while Eugeo was around. I shouldn't have done that, so can you forgive me?"

"Stupid… I can't hold a grudge, especially with someone like you. You're forgiven."

"Whew… anyway, to make it up to you, would you like to go and have a meal with me downstairs?"

"Sure, let's go!" Asuna said happily, grabbing my hand and pulling me out the door.

"Um, Asuna?"

"What is it?"

"Never mind. So, which restaurant do you want to eat at?" I asked, not wanting to burst her bubble.

"Let's see… how about that one?" she said, pointing to an exorbitant-looking Italian restaurant to our left.

_I'm really glad that the hotel pays for our meals._"Sure."

"This is _so good_!" Asuna praised, gobbling down her garlic rolls with no regard for even _basic_ table manners.

"You do know that those are just the _appetizers_, right? Just try to save room for the main course," I said, trying to overlook the fact that her… whatever. "What did you order, anyway?" I asked.

"I ordered the garlic pizza, obviously," she said, like it was—as she had said—obvious.

"Huh. Same as me," I said, uninterested. "Wait… did you get a slice… or a whole pizza…?"

"A whole pizza, of course!"

_Oh… my… god…_

"And you think you can eat it all?"

"Yup!"

_This girl is crazy…!_

"Okay then, whatever."

"You don't believe me, do you?"

"No, I do! It's just… you know what, never mind."

"Touché."

Once our orders arrived, I built up my courage and said, "By the way, there's something you should—" but I was cut off with a glare that said, 'Don't screw with me while I'm eating!'

* * *

Once we finished our meals and were on our way back to our room, I decided I should tell her. "You know, you never fixed your bedhead."

"WHAT?! Why didn't you _tell_ me?!"

"I tried several times, but you always gave me a glare that said, 'Don't screw with me when I'm doing this!'"

"Ugh… I guess I can't blame you, can I?"

"From the sound of your voice, it seems like you still do," I said, annoyed.

"Whatever, let's just go back to our hotel room. You need your rest for the second round tomorrow…"

_She can be really considerate sometimes, can't she?_

"… and I need my rest from you."

_What?_

"Excuse me, _what_ did you just say?" I asked, irritated.

"Nothing, nothing…"

"That's what I thought."

* * *

When we arrived in the hotel room, I immediately dove onto the sofa sleeper, which had been left unfolded due to our rush to get out the door that morning.

Soon, everything faded to black.

* * *

_I saw Sachi just sitting there, at our usual spot._

_Looking at me, she asked, "Is it okay if I come back here again?"_

"_W-what?"_

_Suddenly, she shrunk back to the size of a little kid, asking me, "My name is Sachi, what's yours?"_

"_What?! Don't you remember, Sachi?! It's me, Kazuto!"_

_The young Sachi disappeared. Then, behind me, someone shouted, "KAZUTO, HELP!"_

_I turned around to face the present-time Sachi, her body being sucked into a wormhole, just like the previous night's dream._

_Instead of that man appearing again, my vision shifted to a floating temple of sorts, with my grandfather at the altar._

_Looking down through the transparent floor, I noticed a mountain range that looked like no other. My attention immediately turned back to my grandfather when he shouted, "So after seven hundred years, the myth is beginning once again?! The Seven Blades must be found at once, before their arrival! The Chains of Armageddon must be stopped once more!"_

_My vision shifted once again, this time to the ghetto of my home town._

"_You're a legendary swordsman… I must kill you before you grow too powerful!" hissed a voice from behind me._

"_What?!"_

_I saw a man with long blonde hair and long pointed ears standing in front of me with a deranged expression on his face._

"_I will come for you soon… wait for me until then, First Bladist! Ahaha… AHAHAHAHAHAHA!"_

* * *

"AAAAAGH!" I screamed, falling off of the sofa sleeper yet again.

"What the hell was up with that dream…?" I asked myself, though I knew I would get no answer.

*Yawn* "Good morning, Kazuto," Asuna said groggily, getting up from the bed.

"I'm sorry, did I wake you?"

"This time, you did. Don't worry about it, I needed to get up anyway. After all, I can't watch you fight if I'm asleep, can I?"

"True enough. Well, let's get ready. I've got _two_ rounds to fight today, so I need to get there early to train," I said, already packing.

After I was done packing and finished with my morning needs, Asuna said, "I'm going to take a shower, okay? No objections. I haven't taken a shower since we _got_ here, so it's about time."

_Weird. We've only been here a day._

"Okay, please be quick."

"Right, I can wash this _super long_ hair in thirty seconds!"

"Really?"

"No, you _moron_! It takes a good five minutes just to get my _hair_ washed, let alone the rest of my body! Then I have to _dry_it! And _brush_ it so it doesn't get tangled!"

"All right, all right, I get it. Just make it as quick as you can, okay?"

"Sure, whatever," she said, closing the bathroom door.

* * *

When she came out of the bathroom, looking as good as new, I said, "Okay, let's go."

"Don't rush me, Kazuto! I still have to put on makeup!"

"Oh, _come on_. You look beautiful without it anyway!"

"Thanks for the compliment!" Asuna said gleefully.

"So we can go?"

"Nope! I'm still putting on makeup!"

_Damn!_

* * *

Less than ten minutes later, we were out the front door and on the way to the stadium, where the second and third rounds would take place.

"We can't go window shopping at every store we see on the way, okay?" I told her.

"Yeah, yeah. I already checked them all out yesterday, so we can just go straight to the stadium anyway."

Once we arrived, we went straight to the training rooms. The guard knew who I was now, so he didn't give us any trouble.

When we got to the participant training room, I noticed that there was only one other person in there so far: Xerxes, the Indian Rep.

Xerxes had spiked jet-black hair that stood up a good five inches, with a strand of hair hanging in front of his face. His eyes were violet and his build muscular. He wielded a longsword in his left hand and a giant Spartan-style shield in his right.

"Well, it's good to meet you, Yami No Keshin. You certainly put on a show, beating the third strongest representative in the Asian Bracket," Xerxes said impassively.

"Third…?"

"Yes. Klein and I are _far_ superior to that child. Likewise, he is _far_ inferior to us, and seemingly you. However, Klein… is slightly better than I am. He beat me at the last Asian Bracket… and then promptly lost at the African Bracket."

"So Klein was lying to me when he said that he was even with Eugeo, huh…"

"Yes, he was."

"Well, I'm going to train, okay?" I said, hoping that he would take the hint.

He did. "Yes, please do. Just remember that you face _me_ once you inevitably get past the quarter-finals. Make sure to give me a good challenge."

And with that, he left the room.

_That asshole… he's gonna get it, come the semi-finals!_

* * *

When I walked onto the mat, I found myself face to face with the Malaysian Representative. She wielded a dagger in her right hand, and claws in her left.

I watched as the board counted down.

_**Three… two… one… GO!**_

I immediately rushed at her, catching her off guard.

_Left, up, diagonal down, up, right—_

_FASTER! EVEN FASTER!_

I felt it again. My body responded to my plea, increasing my speed even more than in my battle with Eugeo.

_Left, right, double diagonal down, double jab, block, dodge—_

* * *

(Asuna)

Watching Kirito fight was like watching a tornado wreck a city. He always went for a weapon break, and he had so far always succeeded.

"It seems like you noticed it too."

I turned to my left to find Eugeo standing at the edge of the line of seats I was currently enjoying by myself. This area was reserved for the participants, but all of them were either training or just decided not to come watch. Since I was a VIP guest, I got it to myself.

"Mind if I sit here?" Eugeo asked politely.

"Sure, go ahead."

He sat down. "So, as I was saying… you must have noticed it too. The way he attacks so wildly, always aiming for the opponents' weapons. I didn't get it at first. I thought it was a stupid move. If he always aims for the weapon, then how will he win by making a vital blow? How will he defend himself against the opponents' attacks?

"Then… it hit me. When he aims for the weapons, not only is he trying to break them, he's also defending himself. If he always hits the opponents' weapon with his unbeatable speed, then how will they recover from the recoil _and_ still be fast enough to retaliate? That, and something else. Have you ever noticed that his weapons always seem brand-new every time he draws them from his sheaths? I think there's some kind of technology in those sheaths that fixes any problems with the already durable blades while they're in there. That way, he can always go for a weapon break without worrying about his own weapons breaking."

"Isn't that against the rules?" I pondered.

"I wondered that too, so I did some research. Apparently there are no rules of any kind against that sort of thing. There's only one flaw in his strategy."

I looked back at Kazuto and his opponent, noticing that her weapons were already starting to crack.

"What's that?" I asked, wondering what kind of flaw a strong strategy like that could have.

"It relies entirely on his speed and endurance. If someone is even a _little bit_ faster than he is, than that entire strategy is rendered useless. I think he knows that already, and he's been trying to come up with various other ones just in case.

"Still, I think that there's no one on this earth faster than he is. So his plan is at least good enough to beat all of the people in the Asian Bracket. However, I think that there is _one_ person who poses a threat—Xerxes. His insane speed combined with his sword-and-shield style make him nearly impossible to beat, even if he _is_ slower than Kazuto by a fraction. It's a wonder that Klein was able to beat him at the last Asian Bracket."

"Wow, Xerxes is that strong?"

"Yeah."

* * *

(Kazuto)

_That was too easy._ I thought as I put my right sword to the Malaysian Representative's neck.

As the announcer told the crowd of my victory, I sheathed my swords, shook the girl's hand, and walked away. I paid the wildly cheering crowd no mind as I walked out of the arena. I could only think about one thing.

_I'm coming for you next, Xerxes! I'll make you pay for insulting my friend!_

* * *

When I met up with Asuna, Eugeo was there too. For a split second I questioned the reason for this, before putting that thought aside and saying, "Hey, guys. How's it going?"

"It's going fine. Man, you look even stronger from a distance! Wait, what's wrong?" Eugeo asked me, looking worried.

"Xerxes called you weak. He acts so downright _condescending_! I can't get his arrogant parting words out of my head! 'Make sure to give me a good challenge.' That arrogant prick! He's gonna get it!" I ranted.

"Calm down. I don't care if he called me weak. It doesn't bother me."

"It's not just that. I just can't take his overall condescending nature. He's gonna go _down_. _Hard_."

"Well, we have about three hours before the semi-finals begin, so I'd say you'd better get some intensive training in before your match with the ultimate asshole. Let's go!"

* * *

I walked up to the tournament mat, the glint of determination in my eyes. As Xerxes walked up to meet me, we exchanged a look that said all we needed to know. _I'll never hold back._

_**Three… two… one… GO!**_

We charged at each other at inhuman velocities, his giant shield not hindering his speed in the slightest.

_Double left, up, right, diagonal spin—_

All blocked in showers of sparks.

_Diagonal down, up, right, double diagonal down—_

Blocked again.

_FASTER! I NEED TO GO FASTER!_

There it was again. My body responded to my will to go faster, increasing my speed to new levels. Levels that had never been reached before by any human.

_Left, up, down, diagonal down, upward V, cleave, downward X—_

I wasn't making any headway. His shield wasn't even _cracking_, so I switched to my next target: his sword.

I had been beating on it so much that in three strikes… it shattered. However, Xerxes did not falter.

Instead, he bashed me back several meters with his shield.

_This guy is strong!_ I thought, wiping some blood from my mouth.

I realized something. _The only way he can win now is to knock me out, and the only way I can win is to get around his seemingly indestructible shield. It's a battle of pure strategy now._

I could still feel the power surging from the depths of my body, so I used it to my advantage, charging at Xerxes with inhuman speed.

_CLASH, CLASH!_

Still, he managed to just barely block every single one of my strikes.

_Damn it! At this rate, I'll pass out from exhaustion!_

_Left, right, spin, up, down, diagonal up—_

And then it happened. His shield cracked.

I kept at it, though I was growing more and more exhausted. Even so, my speed wasn't negatively affected like it should be.

_Right, left, double up, double down, upward V, downward X—_

His shield broke in two. Still, he did not falter. He just barely evaded every swing, as if toying with me.

_He knows I'm about to pass out!_

"Hah… hah… THAT'S ENOUGH!" I screamed, my speed increasing even further.

I was a blur. Xerxes never saw it coming when I suddenly appeared behind him and put both of my swords to his neck, saying, "You lose, Xerxes."

"Well, I suppose I did."

Yet again, the announcer stated my victory to the crowds, and the loudest cheering I had heard erupted from all corners of the stadium. I retracted my swords from his neck, stumbling backwards in exhaustion.

_This is too loud…_

"Well, I concede defeat. Good luck defeating Klein. You're going to need it."

That was the last thing I heard before I passed out from fatigue.

* * *

_I opened my eyes to see the man with pointed ears standing before me, a strange type of sword in his right hand. "I need to kill you before you become too much of a nuisance… too bad I can't kill you right now." After a pause, he continued, "Just know that I'm always watching you, waiting for the perfect time to strike. Ahaha… AHAHAHAHAHAHA!"_

* * *

I gasped, waking up and noticing where I was.

The white walls. The wide array of medical equipment. The smell of disinfectant that lingered in the air.

I was in one of my most feared places. I was in the hospital.

I started to hyperventilate, looking around the room for… them.

"Ugh… Kazuto, you're awake?" I heard a female voice say groggily from beside me.

"Asuna…?" I looked at her to notice that she had been sleeping at my bedside, her head resting on the edge.

I looked past her to find Xerxes, sitting in a chair with a book in his hand. "What are you doing here?" I hissed.

"Don't be so mad, Kazuto. He carried you all the way here," Asuna scolded.

"That's one of the reasons why I'm so mad. Do you know where we are?"

"Um, a hospital?"

"Exactly. Bad things happen to me every time I go to a hospital, no matter what for. I can't explain it to you people, you wouldn't understand."

"Try me," Xerxes said, a tiny hint of… concern in his voice.

"Well, first off… the doctors. They always try to hurt me. They use these strange spring knives, and when the blades come out, they glow. When I defend myself by pushing them back, well… I get kicked out for causing the trouble that the doctors started. At first I was pissed off when this happened, but after a while, when the doctors still tried to hurt me, I relished in the fact that if I fought back, I would get kicked out. For some odd reason, they never tried to chase me."

"Well, it looks like _they_ are after you," Xerxes said in a dark tone.

"Who are 'they'?" Asuna asked curiously.

"They are… shifters of sorts. They can take on many forms, but the form they like to take most is that of a human that people would have reason to trust, like a doctor. They cannot leave the place where they shifted into their human form until they shift back," Xerxes said in a low tone, careful not to be overheard.

"But who are they, exactly?"

"I cannot tell you. All I can tell you is… be wary, Kazuto Kirigaya. They aren't always in the form of a doctor." And with those parting words, Xerxes left.

* * *

(Xerxes)

_You will understand everything in due time, child. You must survive until then._

* * *

(Kazuto)

"What's up with that guy?" I asked, knowing I would get no answer.

"Beats me. Let's just go to our hotel room so we can rest for tomorrow's final round."

* * *

Once we got back to our hotel room, I was finally able to calm down.

_Okay… I'm safe for now, so I should just focus on getting some rest for the final round tomorrow._

"G'night, Asuna."

"What? But it's only seven at night! You can't sleep yet!"

I didn't care. I just saw my vision grow cloudy, and then… everything went black.

* * *

_I saw the man again. That same pointy-eared, blond-haired man with the glowing sword. "I'm coming…"_

* * *

"Kazuto! Get your butt up! We're gonna be late to the final round!" Asuna shouted.

_Thank god! I feel like something terrible would have happened if I had stayed asleep._

Then I saw it—a shadow in the doorway in the shape of a person. As soon as I got up and moved toward the door, whoever it was disappeared as if it was never there to begin with.

_Who was that?_

"What are you doing? You still need to pack," Asuna said irritably, throwing me my backpack.

After I snapped out of my trance, I responded with a, "Thanks, _mom_," and began to pack.

* * *

When we arrived at the stadium, Klein ran up to us, saying, "Congrats on making it to the finals! Come with me so we can get to the arena."

I looked at his weapon choice, marveling at the quality. His katana seemed to have been crafted by a master, making it pointless to try for a weapon break. On his left arm, he had a gauntlet that had a disk on it, which struck me as very odd. _Why doesn't he have one of those on both arms?_

He grabbed our arms again, dragging us to a back entrance. "But I already know where it is…"

"No, the final round is being held in a different arena," Klein said as he opened the back entrance to reveal a stairway.

_Don't tell me…_

"The arena that the finals take place in is at the top of the dome, so I hope you're not afraid of heights!"

_Damn!_

"Well, we'd better start climbing!"

Asuna started to move towards the ladder, but Klein stopped her, saying, "Participants only! Sorry."

* * *

Three minutes later, we still hadn't reached the top yet. I looked down, seeing that we were at least one hundred meters above the ground. My legs became weak and I just stood there on the rungs, frozen in place.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. Look down, that is. The first time I went up here, I was scared so bad that I almost lost my grip and fell to my death," Klein said from above me, doing nothing to ease my nerves.

_Damn it, Klein! You've made it worse!_

"Thanks for reminding me of one of the several ways I could die while climbing this thing."

"Sorry."

* * *

Once we got to the top, I was surprised to find a mat surrounded by a cage, preventing us from falling off.

"Oh, thank god for that cage."

"Yeah, I know! Not only does it protect us from falling off, it also nullifies the 'Step out of bounds and you're disqualified rule!' Cool, right?"

"Is that so?" I asked, a devious smirk appearing on my face. _Sweet, I can go all out!_

"We have about three minutes before the match starts, so why don't we just hang out until then?" Klein suggested.

"Sure, I guess."

* * *

After about two and a half minutes, we stopped talking and went into the cage, going to opposite sides.

We drew our swords. Then the unexpected happened. The disc on the gauntlet covering his left arm _enlarged_ to form a shield of sorts. _What a truly strange combination._

"All right, Kazuto. Are you ready?" Klein asked me.

"Forever and always, Klein," I said with conviction. We shared that look, the one that says everything any opponent wants to know.

_I'm not gonna hold back!_

I watched as the board counted down.

_**Three… two… one… GO!**_

We rushed at each other, and yet again I was even faster than I was in my last battle.

However, Klein was just as fast.

_Left, up, double diagonal down, right, spin—_

He was still just as fast as I was, no matter how hard I pushed myself. However, I did notice one thing. _Whenever his weapon or shield gets hit, he moves back a bit! I can back him into a corner, and then he'll be easy to take down!_

_Upward flip-spin, jab, jab, upward V, downward X, diagonal spin—_

I had done it. I had backed him into the southwest corner of the cage. When I slashed sideways, he… jumped onto my blade, and used it to jump over and behind me. He hightailed it to the center of the cage, my swords hot on his trail.

_Why didn't he hit me from behind? Is he toying with me?!_

_Diagonal up, downward X, jab, jab, spin—_

And then… it happened. He made a cut on my left arm. "RAAAAGH!" I screamed.

_FASTER! FASTER! I NEED TO GO FASTER!_

Yet again, my body responded, but something was different. Darker. More violent. I knew something was wrong on the first slash, when his shield shattered in all directions and a piece of shrapnel hit Klein in the arm in the _exact same spot_ where I had been hit.

My moves were sloppy. However, every time Klein made a hit, my skills and speed improved just enough to hit him in the same spot.

This continued until we were both out of breath, scratches all over our bodies.

"You ready to call it quits? You look really tired, and I know I'm exhausted." Klein asked between pants.

"Never!" I hissed with vehemence.

"All right then… let's go!"

* * *

(Asuna)

"Kazuto…"

As I watched the fight, I noticed that they were both slowing down.

"I think he's gonna be okay," Eugeo said, sitting down beside me.

"It is a very close match. At this point, there's no way of telling who will win," Xerxes said, coming from the elevator up to the VIP and competitors' front row seats.

"Who invited _you_ here?" Eugeo asked angrily.

"No need to get so angry, boy. The match may be even right now, but everything is subject to change," Xerxes said impassively, pulling a book out of his pocket and beginning to read.

"Anger aside, who are you rooting for, Xerxes?" I asked.

"I believe that only fate will decide the outcome of this match, and therefore I think that cheering a person on is meaningless. Of course, I will always have my personal preferences," Xerxes said cryptically.

"And those personal preferences are…?" I prodded.

"I want Kazuto to win, of course. He defeated me, so I would obviously be mad if he lost to _anyone_, especially Klein."

We all looked back to the field to see that Klein was slowly gaining the upper hand.

"Kazuto… no…"

* * *

(Kazuto)

_Left, up, double diagonal down—_

I was losing, and I knew it.

_Damn it, pull yourself together!_

Klein wore down a lot slower than I did, which meant only one thing: _huge trouble_.

Still, I kept on fighting, never giving up.

_Left, up, double diagonal down, double up, diagonal spin—_

_FASTER!_

My body responded yet again, this time in the way it usually did.

Everything was a blur. This time, however, my movements weren't sloppy.

I hit Klein's right hand with the flat of my left blade, forcing him to let go of his katana. I put my right sword to his neck.

I had done it. I had won.

Then I realized something. _I just beat the representative of the country I'm staying in! The entire _nation _will hate me!_

The crowd was silent. Suddenly, Klein grabbed my hand and raised it into the air, saying something that sounded like, "Let's give him a hand for beating me! He deserves a round of applause!"

Suddenly, the crowd burst into wild cheers, their clapping becoming a deafening roar.

"Well, that was an awesome match! You're gonna win the world tournament, I just know it!" Klein said enthusiastically.

"Thanks for not being mad, man," I said happily, a small smile forming on my lips.

"Dude, I can never hold a grudge." Klein said, giving me a look.

"Klein…" I said softly.

* * *

A day later, Klein and Eugeo were seeing us off at the airport. Xerxes, however, had business in Africa to take care of, so he was going to be on the plane with us.

"You'd better not lose, man!" Eugeo shouted up to us as we climbed up the ramp to the plane.

"Hey, that's my line!" Klein yelled at Eugeo.

"Like hell! I lost to him first, remember?" Eugeo shot back.

_That's not something to be proud of._

"Guys, you both have the right to use that line, so don't fight with each other!" I shouted from the top of the ramp.

"Got it!" they shouted back in unison.

"Well, we're going in! See you guys later!"

"Right… see you later!"

As we walked onto the plane, Xerxes said, "Well, I've got a seat in economy waiting for me, so I'd better be going."

"But can't you sit with us? You were a competitor, weren't you?" I asked.

"The key word is _were_. I lost, therefore I have to deal with a bad seat."

"You don't sound very sad," Asuna said.

_She sounds… almost happy._

"That sucks, I had some questions for you. Oh well, I can ask you when we get off the plane. Until then, Xerxes."

And with that, Xerxes and I parted ways, Asuna following behind me.

_The Asian Bracket is over, but that's only the beginning. Ready or not, Africa, here I come!_

* * *

**A/N:**

**This. Was. Freaking. AWESOME!**

**I had _no clue _I could _ever _pull off a NINE THOUSAND WORD CHAPTER! I should probably say that after this, I can't promise when I will update this story, seeing as most of the chapters will be exceedingly long.**

**So, the sinister things have already started, huh? I wonder what it all means…? Just kidding! I'm the writer, so of course I know what it means. You guys, however, are stuck in the dark for a while.**

**You may wonder how Asuna keeps getting all the good seats, so I'll just tell you that… not all is as it seems with this chestnut-haired beauty.**

**Anyway, how'd you like the Asian Bracket? I plan on doing one bracket per chapter, so this story won't have many chapters, but each chapter will be INSANELY long. Since every chapter will have one bracket, they will all be at least seven thousand words, depending on how many characters from the anime and LNs I can fit into each bracket.**

**Now I'll take the time to explain the mechanics of each bracket.**

**The first bracket, the Asian Bracket, consisted of the representatives of the sixteen countries in which the LoB hosts tournaments. This means that there will be four rounds if you include the final round. The winner, who is Kazuto, becomes the representative of the ENTIRETY OF ASIA, as well as Japan.**

**The second bracket, the African Bracket, will have fourteen reps participating, but the two missing spots will be filled with the Asian Rep and the Australian Rep. (The Australian Rep has no competition, as Australia is the only country in its continent, so there wouldn't be any other representative to compete for the continental title.)**

**Whoever wins that bracket will become the representative of Africa, in addition to being the representative of the other country and/or continent they already represent.**

**The North American and South American Brackets (in that order) will each have fifteen representatives, the last spot filled by the winner of the previous bracket.**

**Finally, the European Bracket (there is no Antarctic Bracket) will have THIRTY ONE representatives, with the last spot once again filled with the previous bracket's winner.**

**All right… I think that's about it! Disclaimer time!**

**I don't own Sword Art Online, Sword Art Online: Infinity Moment, or any of the characters in them!**

**See ya!**


	3. Chapter 3: The African Bracket

The League of Blades

Chapter Three: The African Bracket

* * *

_As we walked into the plane, Xerxes said, "Well, I've got a seat in economy waiting for me, so I'd better be going."_

_"But can't you sit with us? You were a competitor, weren't you?" I asked._

_"The key word is were. I lost, therefore I have to deal with a bad seat."_

_"You don't sound very sad," Asuna said._

_She sounds… almost happy._

_"That sucks, I had some questions for you. Oh well, I can ask you when we get off the plane. Until then, Xerxes." And with that, Xerxes and I parted ways, Asuna following behind me._

**_The Asian Bracket is over, but that's only the beginning. Ready or not, Africa, here I come!_**

* * *

"So, what's your girlfriend like, Kazuto?"

I did a spit take, shocked that Asuna would ask a random question like that out of the blue. _What does she mean?_

"I don't have a girlfriend," I said a little too sternly.

"Then what about that Sachi chick?"

I coughed violently. When I recovered…

"She's not my girlfriend."

"That so?" she asked, giving me one of those knowing smirks.

"*Sigh*, lay off, will you? I mean, she's my best friend! That's all."

"Whatever."

I looked out the plane's window and into the blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea, pondering what the next bracket had in store for me.

_Klein was the toughest opponent I've ever fought, but if he lost at the African Bracket, then… I've got some _serious _trouble on my hands._

"Are you okay? You look worried," Asuna queried.

Turning to look into her chestnut eyes, I responded, "Just thinking about what's going to happen at the African Bracket. Klein was so _strong_… if he lost at the African Bracket, then how will I fare? It's weird, but… I'm kind of scared.

"And not scared just of that, either. What if… what if those Shifters that Xerxes was talking about follow me all the way to our destination? After a match, if I end up alone in a hospital with an injury too painful to move, then… they'll kill me. I just know it."

"Then… if you wind up in the hospital again, I swear that I'll stay by your side the whole time."

_Asuna…_

"Thank you, Asuna… I'll repay your kindness somehow," I promised her.

"Idiot, I haven't done anything yet!"

"But you gave me your word. That's good enough for me," I said with sincerity.

"You're a moron, you know that?"

At this, we shared a good laugh.

"Which reminds me for whatever reason, why are you coming to Egypt too?" I asked Asuna curiously, though I already had a pretty good idea. The reason gave me a headache.

"Because my dad gave me the plane and arena tickets to go to all of the brackets," Asuna said bluntly.

_Damn it!_

"Yet he neglected to make you reservations at decent hotels, huh?"

"Ehehe… he's kinda stingy… he figured that I'd find someone else to take care of that. Like a certain Japanese Representative," she explained, finishing off my hopes with a wink.

_Damn it again!_

"No."

"Oh, come on, didn't you want to stick together?" Asuna whined.

"That was until the Asian Bracket was over, and guess what? It _is_," I grated.

"Why don't you want me around?"

"One minute we're best friends, then the next you're mad at me for some reason."

"I'm sorry… I've made you mad. How can I make up for it?"

I looked at her with wide eyes, not expecting to hear that.

"I… I'm sorry too. You have no place to stay, and here I am trying to force you to sleep on the streets in five different continents. That's bad of me," I said sadly.

_How the heck can I say no to that tone? That girl is a master at the art of the guilt trip!_

"No, it's okay. But does that mean that I can…"

"Yeah, you can stay with me for the remainder of the tournament, assuming that I win," I sighed.

"Yes! Thank you, Kazuto!" Asuna said, a little too enthusiastic.

_As I thought._

I yawned, feeling tired from the flight. "I'm going to sleep for a while, okay? Wake me up when we get there so we can find the hotel."

"All right. Sweet dreams, Kazuto."

Almost immediately after she said that, the drowsiness overcame me… and I fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

_The same man that haunted my dreams in China stood before me, that strange sword in his hands. "You may have escaped me, but very soon you will meet my brothers, and they will take on the task of killing you! Ahaha… AHAHAHAHAHAHA!"_

The dream Shifted.

_I was witnessing the apocalypse. I could easily tell from the large stones coming off of the ground and flying into the sky. It was as if the world would collapse at any moment._

_"KAZUTO!" two girls shouted in unison._

_I turned around, finding Asuna and Sachi being sucked into a wormhole._

_"NO! ASUNA! SACHI!"_

_The wormhole disappeared, leaving me to witness two people fighting, the ground breaking up even faster around them._

_Upon closer inspection, I noticed that I was one of the two people fighting… and that I was on the losing side._

_"I'm going to kill you for the good of the world!" the man I was fighting bellowed._

_Then… he hit one of my swords out of my hand. He proceeded to raise his sword high above his head, his sword taking on a red hue as it began to slash through the air._

_"NO!"_

_A girl pushed me out of the way, attempting to take the blow for herself._

_Just before I could discern who the girl was…_

* * *

"Wait!" I shouted to the air, waking up in a cold sweat.

"Kazuto? Are you okay?" Asuna asked me, a frantic look on her face.

_Whew… it was just a dream. Wait… if that dream hasn't happened, then maybe the one about Sachi being kidnapped hasn't happened yet either! I hope so…_

I looked out the window to find us at the airport. "We're here. C'mon Asuna, let's go."

As we got off the plane, we saw Xerxes waiting for us.

He wore different clothes than he did at the last tournament, now wearing a long black trench coat, black pants, and black shoes, but I didn't think much of it.

Walking up to him, I asked, "Xerxes, why exactly did you come to Egypt?"

"I have no need to reveal my intentions to you," Xerxes replied curtly.

As he began to walk away, I said, "Wait! I just have one more question!"

He paused mid-step. "What is it?"

"Not here," I said after a moment, "There's ears everywhere that don't need to hear it."

"All right."

Once we were in a dark alleyway, I noticed that Asuna wasn't behind me. Thinking nothing of it, I turned to him and said, "What are these… _Shifters_ you were talking about at the hospital?"

"Need you even ask?"

Xerxes' face began to distort, excess tissue fading and wrinkles forming. His mouth began to grow _fangs_, and his fingernails elongated, forming deadly claws. More deadly claw-like nails erupted from his feet, completely destroying the tips of his shoes. Spikes grew out of his shoulders, knees and elbows, ripping holes in his trench coat.

Then, a handle of sorts fell from his sleeve, causing me to break into a cold sweat, eyes widening.

_Oh shit! He's one of them!_

He squeezed on the handle, making a glowing blade come out, about as long as one of my swords.

"Get out of here, Kazuto! Run!" a familiar voice yelled from behind me.

I turned around to find Xerxes, wielding a new shield… yet no sword.

"X-Xerxes?!"

_So that guy was a fake?!_

"Run, Kazuto! I'll hold him off while you find Asuna!"

"What? Why?" I asked, confused.

"She's in trouble too!"

"What?!"

"JUST GO!"

"G-got it!"

* * *

(Xerxes)

"Bring it on, fake hero!" the hideous beast taunted.

"If I'm the fake hero, then what does that make you, impostor?!" I taunted back.

"Shut the hell up and taste my sword!"

_Perfect!_

Taking the taunt, the beast jumped forward, swinging its sword wildly.

I blocked every strike sent my way with my shield… one of two shields on this earth that can stand up to that kind of sword.

"Why isn't your shield breaking?!" the monstrosity before me shrieked, its attacks getting more and more sloppy.

"That's right, keep roaring!" I jeered.

* * *

(Kazuto)

"Come on…" I mumbled as I ran through the streets.

Then… I saw them. The Shifters were everywhere, posing as normal civilians. But I could see a few differences.

They all wore the same trench coat that the Xerxes impostor wore, and their nails were a little… sharper than the average human's.

_I have to find Asuna! Then we'll find someplace to hide!_

I kept running, not stopping until I reached the edge of the city. "Damn it! I've got to find her!"

I turned around, finding a lone Shifter facing me, already transforming.

_Damn! Looks like I'll have to fight it!_

"I must kill you before you become a nuisance!" it screeched, activating its glowing sword and charging toward me. I drew my swords, but…

As soon as it clashed with mine, my left sword was cleaved in two. I just barely ducked under the still-slashing blade, a few strands of hair getting cut off.

"AHAHAHAHA!" the beast cackled menacingly. It took another swing at my other sword, slicing that one in two as well.

_Shit!_

It started to swing its sword down, and just before it hit me… a giant man with dark skin and a muscular build appeared out of nowhere and deflected it with his axe, sending the Shifter flying back.

"Damn Remotian bastards… hey, you okay?" the man asked me.

"Y-yeah…" I stuttered. Then, I noticed the beast get up and charge again. "He's coming back!"

"Right! You stay back while I take care of this guy!" the dark-skinned giant shouted as he ran towards the monstrous fiend.

I could only watch as this man fought with incredible speed and skill, completely overwhelming the monster before him. The man cut off the Shifter's shoulder spike, sending it into the air, where it came back down and hit the beast in the neck. It fell limply to the ground. I stared in shock.

_What in the hell?!_

"Did you _plan_ for that spike to hit him there?" I asked, incredulous.

"Yeah. I'm guessing you're the Asian Rep, seeing as you're the only Asian I've come across since the last world tournament. My name is Egil, what's yours?"

_Finally, someone who doesn't know the name Yami No Keshin…_

"Kazuto. Kazuto Kirigaya."

"So you _are_ the Asian Rep! Well, I'll take you to my café, you'll be safe there," Egil said.

"You own a café?"

"It's a family restaurant, but I run it. I'm sure you'll fit right in! You can stay there until it's time for the African Bracket," the man answered, laughing heartily afterwards.

_Sure I'll fit right in, eh?_

"Thanks… Egil."

When we were nearing his café, I remembered the reason I had been searching the city in the first place. "I've gotta find Asuna!"

"A chestnut haired girl with matching eyes? One with flawless features and a constant smile?" Egil asked.

"Yeah, exact— wait, what? How do you?!"

"I met her on my way to you," he answered calmly.

"Is she okay?" I asked, still on edge.

"She's fine, don't worry! Actually, when I found her, she was busy jabbing the _crap_ out of a Remotian with a rapier," Egil reassured me.

_What?!_

"Which reminds me, what is a Remotian?"

"Most people who don't know their background refer to them as 'Shifters'," he replied.

"Wait, what are their weapons called?"

"Hell if I know. All I know is that only a handful of weapons in the world can stand up to them, my axe included," Egil said, lowering my hopes of ever being able to defeat even one Shifter.

"Don't worry, I know where to find a few. Follow me," he said, noticing my downtrodden expression.

My stomach decided to protest, letting out a loud growl.

"Looks like you're pretty hungry! Well, I've got just the remedy for that! C'mon in!" Egil said, laughing heartily.

It was then that I realized that we were right in front of a café named, _"Mills Family Café."_

Walking in, I noted that the café was very extravagant for a family-owned place. Three crystal chandeliers hung low in a line over the drinking area, providing a nice soft light that illuminated the area perfectly. In that area were all kinds of drinks that I had never even _heard_ of before.

There were large tables set up in a circle around a giant platform, making it look like a mini-arena.

Pointing to the platform, I asked, "What's that?"

"Oh, that? That's our fighting arena. When I'm not running the drink bar, I go down and fight anyone who has the guts to challenge me."

"What do you mean? Wait, are you…?"

"The previous African Rep, at your service! I hear that Klein gave you a hard time! Well, don't expect me to be any easier!" Egil said, finishing with a hearty laugh.

"Wait, so…"

"Yup! I beat Klein in the first round!"

I was shocked. "And people still challenge you to fights here?"

"Competition is king! Well, there's that, and the fact that I said that if anyone beats me, I'll have them enter the tournament in my place," he answered, smirking.

I tried to decipher his thoughts. _But… would the tournament rules allow that?_ I suddenly caught on, saying, "Wait, you're cheating them! The tournament rules probably don't even allow that!"

I stared into his eyes. He stared into mine. We continued on like this for minutes, until finally, he started cracking up.

"Not quite, Asian Rep! If I call sick, then I can send someone of my choosing in my place."

"I-I see… and why, might I ask, do you even consider trying this?"

He looked me in the eyes, suddenly getting dead serious. "Simple. I know that no one on this continent can beat me."

_On this _continent_, he says…_

"That reminds me, you're not from this continent, are you? Wanna have a friendly little match before the tournament starts in a week? Of course, we'll have to eat and get you some new swords first," Egil said, smiling broadly.

* * *

One quick meal later, and Egil was leading me through the endless sand dunes.

_I really should've eaten more…_

My body was burning up, and the occasional sip from my now almost-empty water bottle didn't help in the slightest.

I sighed. "Are we almost there?"

"You sound like a little kid! Anyway, yeah, we're just about to the first stop!"

"Hey, I'm sixteen! Wait… the _first_ stop? But we've been out in the desert for more than an _hour_!"

"The more you talk, the more you prove my point!" Egil laughed. "But yeah, there are _two_ places that we need to go, since you need two swords."

"Ah," I replied.

"And we're here!" Egil said, pointing to a pyramid that I should've been able to see sooner.

"So you're saying we'll find a _usable sword_ inside that thing? Wouldn't it have aged to the point that it'd break if it hit something?" I queried doubtfully. "And not only that, but isn't going into one of the pyramids without permission _illegal_?"

"Well, nobody has to know that!" Egil grinned.

I sighed, looking towards the pyramid. "Whatever, let's just go so I don't die to one of those _things_."

"Remotians, Kazuto. Remotians," Egil corrected me.

_Huh. He didn't call me Asian Rep._

"All right, whatever. How are we even gonna get _in_ there?" I asked.

"Easy! Watch this!" Egil said.

Egil walked over to the pyramid, taking his axe off his back.

"What the hell are you _doing_?!"

"Just watch."

He walked over to the left. "Here it is!" he said, pointing to a symbol on the pyramid.

He raised the flat of his axe and put it next to the symbol. The axe started to glow, the light Shifting to form familiar markings on the flat of the blade.

_The markings on his axe! They match the design of the symbol!_

Suddenly, the area around the symbol started to glow… and disappeared, revealing a doorway.

_What just happened…? I don't quite get it, but I have a bad feeling about this._

"Come on, let's go."

"R-right," I said with a start.

We walked inside.

* * *

(Asuna)

I had just finished killing the third Shifter that came my way, and I was on the verge of collapsing. My rapier looked a little worse for wear as well.

Unfortunately, another one came just as I sat down to rest.

"You're mine! AHAHAHAHA!"

Just as it swung its strange sword down at me, someone ran in and blocked it with his giant broadsword.

"Hey, pretty lady! Are you okay?" he said, looking back at me.

The man was at least six foot three, with a bulky build and a broadsword that made Kazuto's swords look like toothpicks. Strangely, he held his sword in one hand.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Who are you?"

"The Botswana Representative, at your service! My name is Rachida."

"Nice to meet you, Rachida. Now watch out! He's coming back!" I shouted.

Rachida ran at the Shifter, exchanging blows with impressive strength and quickly overwhelming it.

_This guy has insane power… and Kazuto might have to fight him!_

* * *

(Kazuto)

As we walked, I noticed the moisture in the air increase little by little until we were in a thick fog.

"How far until we get the first sword?" I asked, trying not to sound impatient.

"We're just about there. Keep going straight and you'll see a giant double door. The sword will be in there."

"You talk like you aren't going in there with me."

"I'm not."

_What?! _"Why not?!" I yelled, a little too loudly.

The walls shook.

"What just… happened…?"

"This area of the pyramid is unstable, so even that was able to make the foundations shake."

_Not good…_

"Wait, you still didn't answer my question. Why aren't you coming with me?" I said, a little less loudly.

"It's just my job to take you there. I'm not supposed to get in the way."

"What do you—?"

"Oh look, there's the entrance!" he said, pointing to a giant set of double doors that were wide open. "All right, you're on your own!"

He pushed me in.

The doors shut behind me.

I was trapped.

Fan-_friggin-_tastic.

I looked at my surroundings, finding a lake of bright silver liquid in front of me. It was surrounded by six pillars, and a pedestal stood in the center.

Upon closer inspection, I saw a sword lodged in the pedestal, looking brand new despite its ancient surroundings.

_Who would've thought that all this would be in a pyramid…?_

Suddenly, bright green flames erupted from the tops of the pillars, one by one.

_What the hell?!_

Out of the silver liquid rose a copy of me, with the same two swords that were previously cut in two by the Shifter that Egil killed.

_Crap! I need to get a weapon!_

The clone charged.

* * *

(Asuna)

Rachida walked with me as we made our way to a restaurant, constantly cracking jokes that actually succeeded in making me laugh.

"You're a pretty funny guy, you know that?" I said cheerily.

"I get that a lot back home."

I then remembered something important that I wanted to ask him. "Which reminds me… how did you fight so well with the Shifter using such an impractical style? You hold your giant _two-handed_ sword in one hand, yet you took down that Shifter in no time at all."

"It's a secret."

* * *

(Kazuto)

My copy was almost as fast as me.

I kept running around, looking for something, _anything_ that I could use to combat my doppelganger.

_It looks like my only shot is that weapon in the center of the lake. But… what if the lake is too deep to walk all the way there? I'm dead if I have to swim. What if I have to _beat_ this thing before I can get the weapon?_

I evaded a slash just in time, but I got a scratch on my cheek for hesitating.

_Damn it, I can't hesitate! I have to do something!_

I looked over at the sword lodged in the center pedestal one last time before deciding.

_I have to try!_

I made a mad dash towards the center of the lake, my clone right on my tail. Just as I was about to reach the island in the center, my doppelganger jumped ahead of me to try to block me.

_No you don't!_

Before it landed, I ducked and somersaulted past him until I reached the sand of the island.

I got up and ran to the pedestal, immediately grabbing hold of the sword and tugging as hard as possible.

_It won't budge!_

Then, I got an idea.

_Yeah, that could work!_

I turned around, facing my copy that had just registered that I wasn't where he thought I would be. He looked at me with vacant eyes, beginning to tense up. Then, all of the sudden, he broke into a sprint.

My clone ran at me with inhuman speed, falling prey to my trap.

Just as he slashed downwards, hoping to cut me in two, I jumped out of the way. A cracking sound could be heard, and then…

The rock holding the sword shattered, sending the weapon into the air. As it came back down, I jumped and grabbed it just in time to block a slash from my copy's right sword.

The force of the block sent my clone flying back into the lake.

_Whoa…_

Then, my new blade began to glow. It started to change shape, the glow getting stronger by the second.

Once the glowing stopped, I saw a beautiful whitish-green sword with a gem in the center of the cross guard, which looked like two spikes opposite each other. Near the end of the sword, the blade widened slightly, coming back into a deadly point, similar to a spear.

The clone started to get up.

_This is amazing, but he still has two swords! I'll need another sword!_

As if hearing my plea, my new sword started to glow again. It began to emit a breeze from the gem in its cross guard, the wind flowing into my left hand and materializing into a copy of the original.

_What the?!_

I didn't have time to marvel at the strange occurrence, for my replica had begun to run at me.

I jumped into the air to evade him, and to my surprise, I jumped so high that I found myself standing on the ceiling.

_Huh…? Well, I can use this to my advantage!_

I kicked off of the ceiling just as my duplicate jumped up.

"RAAAAAAAAGH!"

I flipped in midair, shattering my doppelganger's blades with my own.

As we dropped back into the lake, my copy started to melt back into the silvery water.

_So the swords were its life force, I take it?_

I looked around, noting that the many torches around the room no longer burned with their eerie green flame, and the room was once again dark.

My second sword turned back into wind, merging itself with the original.

_Well, whatever. All I know is that I have a new sword that can duplicate itself. Its power is amazing! Well, Egil said we had two stops to get swords for me, so I'm guessing that the next one will be at least as powerful as this one._

I found a sheath in the rubble where the sword was once kept and I slid the blade in. I put the sheath on my back, proceeding to walk to the doors.

* * *

(Asuna)

We found ourselves at a café, named, _"Mills Family Café."_

When we walked in, we were immediately greeted by a small Egyptian woman who said, "What an unusual couple! Right this way!" in her native tongue.

"Ahahaha… no ma'am, we're not a couple. I'm just showing her around the city." Rachida clarified.

_Thank you, Rachida…_

The woman did a double take. "Wait a second… is that you, Rachida? You've grown so much since the last tournament!"

"You two know each other?" I asked with mild curiosity.

"Oh, yes! During the last tournament, he came here for every meal! He always said our food was better than anywhere else in all of Egypt!"

"I see… in that case, could I try some of the food here?"

"Of course! Let's get you seated!"

* * *

(Kazuto)

When I walked out of the room, I noticed Egil waiting for me by the doors.

"So, the fact that you came out alive means you got the Dark Repulser, am I right?"

"The Dark Repulser? You mean my new sword?" I asked curiously.

"Yeah. Your new sword is the legendary sword of wind. They named it the Dark Repulser long ago because its winds were said to have banished a dark force with the help of another sword."

"And that other sword is…?"

Egil looked at me with a wide smile. "You'll find out at our next stop!"

"What are we waiting for? Let's go!" I said vigorously, starting to run ahead.

* * *

As we walked through the desert, I noticed that I felt no fatigue.

_Why…?_

As if reading my mind, Egil said, "That sword will keep you cool and refreshed with its wind magic. It doesn't work in fights, though."

"I see. That makes sense," I said sarcastically, eyes narrowing.

_Why wouldn't it work in a fight? Wait a second…_

"Egil… If you don't mind me asking, how do you know all of this?"

"I'm not allowed to say. Sorry about that. All I can say is that you need to watch your back. The Remotians aren't the only ones plotting to kill you."

_What's that supposed to mean?_

* * *

After another hour, we stopped at what appeared to be a giant sandcastle.

"This is our next stop! The Shadow Sand Ruins!" Egil said. "Before we go in, I want to test your strength. Prepare to fight, Asian Rep!"

_That was random. Whatever… I'm never one to back down from a challenge!_

We put distance between ourselves, tensing our muscles for battle.

_All right… three… two… one… GO!_

I charged. Egil, however, stayed in his spot. I thought nothing of it, continuing to charge at my unearthly speed.

Just before I got the first strike in, I felt something hit me _hard_ in my abdomen. _What?!_

He had hit me with the flat of his axe in the stomach so fast that I couldn't even follow the movement, let alone have time to react.

_How in the hell?!_

"That all you got, Asian Rep? I would think that a continental Representative would be stronger than this!"

_He's taunting me! What an unbelievable asshole!_

I jumped back, immediately running in again.

_Left, right, cleave—_

Every strike I made was blocked by his giant axe. It was as if I was in slow motion.

_Faster… faster! I NEED TO BE FASTER!_

Once again, my body responded, taking my speed to levels never seen before… or so I thought.

_Down, up, spin, double left, double diagonal up, downward V, double jab—_

He didn't back down, blocking every single strike.

My left Dark Repulser got caught in Egil's axe. He used it to throw me into the air, forcing me to let go of it. It turned back into wind, merging with the original once again.

I flew backwards, landing in the sand and creating a cloud of dust.

_Yes!_

I used this to my advantage, charging at him through the cloud, but… once I got to him, his axe was at my neck.

"Wha…?"

"You lose. Hopefully you'll give me a better fight at the tournament, Asian Rep," Egil said as he walked ahead.

_How did that happen?_

"Come on, let's go," Egil said sternly, snapping me out of my daze.

"R-right."

We walked into the Shadow Sand Ruins.

* * *

(Egil)

As we walked through the ruins, I realized what had to be done.

_This is your final test before the tournament, Kazuto Kirigaya. Now, I have to let you solve this one on your own._

When he walked through the doorway to the next room, I stayed behind, watching as it shut behind him.

* * *

(Kazuto)

I heard the door shut behind me.

_Shit! Does that mean…?_

I turned around, what I saw confirmed my suspicions.

Egil stayed behind. I was alone.

_Well, I can't do anything about it now… I guess I'll just have to get the sword and find another way out._

I kept on walking, finding the place to be more and more like a maze as I went further down.

* * *

(Asuna)

The Egyptian woman had given us a place to stay up in the guest room of her house, which adjoined the café.

I hadn't seen Kazuto in hours, and I was beginning to get really worried.

"Hey… Rachida? Did you happen to see an Asian with two swords on your way to me?"

"No, why? Is he your boyfriend?"

I looked to the side, a pout on my face. A light blush stained my cheeks, much to my dismay. "N-no, he's the Asian Representative that I came with on the plane here! We got separated before the Shifters attacked me, and I'm really worried about him," I said with as much authority as I could muster.

"Oh, so you're worried that the Shifters attacked him as well?"

"Yeah."

"I wouldn't worry about that. He's the Asian Representative, right? That means he's better than anyone in Asia! I'm sure he's just fine."

"Fukayna, I'm home!" a deep voice said from downstairs.

"Oh, Egil! You're back! I hope this is okay, but I offered a room to Rachida and his friend until the tournament is over."

_Egil? I know that name from somewhere…_

"Of course it's fine, though I was planning to give that room to the Asian Rep," I heard him say as his steps came towards the stairs.

_He knows Kazuto?!_

Without thinking, I got up, rushed down the stairs… and marveled at the giant that I saw before me.

"Hey there, my name's Egil. I take it that you know the Asian Rep."

"Is Kazuto okay?!"

"Can't say for sure, but I'd say we'll find out by the time the tournament starts."

"What do you mean by that…?"

"Well, let's just say that if he makes it to the tournament, then he's fine, but if he doesn't, then he's probably dead."

I barely recognized the replying scream as my own voice.

"_WHAT_?!"

* * *

(Kazuto)

After an ungodly amount of walking around, I still hadn't found a thing. I really didn't know how long it had been, seeing as I couldn't see the sun from underground, so I couldn't tell how long I had been walking around aimlessly.

I had the sneaking suspicion that it had been three days or even more, but I didn't want to give up hope on getting to the tournament, which had been only five days away when I entered this death trap.

Every once in a while, I would stumble across a fountain of clear water, but I rarely took a drink. The Dark Repulser kept me feeling full and refreshed, but I could feel its magic draining from overuse.

When I reached a fountain for the seventh time since walking in, something occurred to me.

_What if I've only seen one fountain, and I've kept passing it by walking around in circles?_

I took a closer look at the fountain, and to my relief, it was different than the others I had seen.

_Good, so I haven't been going in circles. That still doesn't solve the problem of how I'm going to get out, though._

I looked at the fountain again, noticing a carving on the side that looked strikingly like the Dark Repulser.

I walked closer, drawing said blade and holding it up to the carving, like Egil had done at the pyramid. The Dark Repulser began to glow, along with the carving.

_What the hell?!_

Suddenly, the entire fountain began to glow. Then, in a flash of blinding light, the fountain vanished, leaving a set of stairs leading downward in its wake.

_Well, no turning back now._

I sheathed my sword and walked down the stairs.

* * *

(Asuna)

Four days since we had arrived in Egypt.

Kazuto still hadn't been spotted, and my worry continued mounting by the minute.

"It'll be fine, don't worry about it." Rachida soothed me.

"But it's been four days! If he hasn't died trying to get what he wanted to get, then he's probably starved to death!" I shouted.

"Actually, he has something that will keep that from happening. The only way he can die right now is through battle," Egil chimed in, walking up to us with plates of food in hand.

A look of understanding donned on Rachida's face. "You mean the Dark Repulser, right? But if you got that and you sent him somewhere else, then that means that… you sent him to the ShadowSand Ruins?! But that's where… that's where…"

"Yup! His final test on this continent is to fight Illfang of Kobold, the guardian of the legendary blade, Elucidator."

"Illfang of Kobold?" I repeated.

Egil looked on with contempt. "Yeah. Let me explain."

* * *

(Kazuto)

I found myself at a door similar to the one in the pyramid that held the Dark Repulser, but larger.

_This doesn't bode well._

I pushed on the door to open it, and when it did, I found the room to be a giant hallway, with a throne at the end.

I walked further into the room, taking note of the pillars throughout the room. With my curiosity sated, I turned back to the throne to give it a closer look.

_Wait… do I see a pair of red eyes on the throne?_

The door shut behind me, the loud noise causing me to start.

The walls brightened with a rainbow of colors, making them look like stained glass.

The red eyes on the throne jumped into the air along with a giant fat body, landing in front of me.

_Shit, what the hell is that?!_

The crimson-skinned monster was several meters tall, with a blue diamond pattern on its fat red abdomen. Its upper body had great bulk, and its head was oddly small, with a grey helmet. Two thin ears stuck out of the helmet's sides.

It stretched out its right hand, and a giant one-handed axe materialized in midair. The beast grabbed it, then stretched out its left hand, in which a circular shield materialized. Then, a sword that I couldn't discern any details of appeared on its back.

I unsheathed the Dark Repulser, immediately making it form a second blade for my left hand.

I charged.

"KURAAAAAAGH!"

* * *

(Asuna)

"So let me get this straight. You led him to the den of a _monster_ that's never been defeated before by _anyone_?! Are you _insane_?!" I screamed at Egil.

"Pretty much!"

This did not ease my worry in the _slightest._

"Have faith in him," Rachida comforted me.

I started to hyperventilate.

"I'm going in after him."

Egil did a spit take on his coffee. "Don't be an idiot, Asuna. You can't get in there anyway, and even if you could, Kazuto is the only one who stands a chance against Illfang. Anyone else fighting it would just be throwing their lives away."

"Then what can I do?" I asked solemnly.

"All we can do is wait," Rachida said with a sad expression.

"But the tournament begins tomorrow!"

"Correction: it begins in seven hours. It's one in the morning right now, and the tournament begins at eight," Fukayna said as she entered the room.

The room fell silent.

* * *

(Kazuto)

It was all I could do to dodge its devastating attacks.

It may not have been fast, but the force when its axe hit the ground sent shockwaves everywhere, to the point where I couldn't even get close to the beast without being sent flying back.

_Damn it! How am I supposed to beat this thing if I can't even get close to it?!_

My thought process was broken by a downward slash from its axe, which I barely dodged. Still, the shockwaves sent me flying into a wall.

I fell to the ground, panting heavily.

"Rrgh…"

_Damn… I don't stand a chance at this rate! Wait a second… the shockwaves it makes look like wind, and my sword's element is wind… maybe I can create shockwaves by slashing my sword!_

I gripped my swords tighter.

"KUURAAAAAH!"

I let loose a spin attack, sending deadly shockwaves in all directions. The giant red monster tried to block with its shield, but on contact with the waves, the shield tore to pieces as if it were paper. It ran at me with its axe, but I slashed as hard as I could a second time, the shockwave sending the axe flying out of the beast's hand.

Then, the beast grabbed the sword from its back.

The flat of the blade was a strange black color that made you feel like you were getting sucked in, with silver edges on both sides. The upper part of the cross guard had the shape of a spiked arc, which held the same sharpness as the blade.

_Wait… that _is _part of the blade._

The lower part of the cross guard was thicker, to hold the blade in place. A small silver semi-sphere resided on each side of the lower part of the cross guard, with a black X on top.

Only one word came to my mind.

_Shit._

The monster ran at me with its new weapon, slashing down on me. It took all of my strength to block with _both_ of my swords, and the force of the attack still made a crater beneath me.

Eventually, the red-skinned monstrosity backed off, as if afraid of me.

I soon found out the reason why.

My swords started to glow with a whitish-green color, the light getting brighter and brighter.

But that wasn't the _true_ reason that it was slowly backing away.

_Its sword is shrinking! Wait a second! Could that sword be…?_

When its sword became too small for it to use, it dropped it and made a mad dash for its axe.

_The sword is small enough for me to wield! This can't be a coincidence!_

I ran over to where the red fiend dropped the sword, dematerializing my left sword and picking up the black sword.

_Whoa, this thing is heavy!_

I put down the black sword, put the Dark Repulser in my left hand, and picked up the black one in my right.

The weight balanced out perfectly. I felt a grin stretch across my face.

"It's on now…"

* * *

(Asuna)

_There are only two hours until the tournament starts! Where _is_ he?! He'd better be alive!_

We had all agreed to stay up and search the town for Kazuto, just in case he lived and didn't know how to get back to Egil's restaurant.

We had just gathered back at Egil's café to see if any of us had found him. Sadly, none of us had seen him at all.

"Well, the tournament starts in two hours, and participants have to be there at least thirty minutes early, so we'd better go. It takes an hour to get there on foot anyway," Egil said solemnly.

Knowing that none of us had a car, I sighed in defeat.

_Please, just be okay, Kazuto…_

* * *

(Kazuto)

When I walked out of the ShadowSand Ruins from a door in the monster's room, I found Xerxes waiting for me.

_Something tells me that this is really him._

"Xerxes? What are you doing here?"

"I've come to lead you to the tournament grounds. You would get lost, and I know a short cut," Xerxes said in his ever-impassive tone.

I sighed. "All right, but you'd better not be leading me into any traps!"

"You have my word."

* * *

(Asuna)

We had finally arrived at the tournament grounds. Even at seven in the morning, the area was filled with people waiting for the tournament to start, and even more continued to arrive.

The pyramid-shaped stadium towered above us with a visible flat area on the top reserved for the final round.

"Whoa, so this is where the African Bracket will take place…" I whispered in awe.

"Yup, that's right! What you won't believe is that the pyramid stadium is collapsible! It's like a giant stone-like metal tent," Rachida informed me.

"What?! Seriously? That's awesome!" I exclaimed.

I blushed and looked away from their stares. "Sorry… I may be a little over-interested in collapsible machines…"

"Which reminds me, is that how you make it so no one sees your rapier? Can it collapse into something smaller?" Rachida queried.

"Yeah, that's right!" I replied, thrilled.

"Cool!" he said. "Anyway, me and Egil gotta go and check in to the participants' quarters. Egil, let's go."

"Wait! Just… wait a little more for Kazuto," I pleaded.

"I'm sorry, but we have to—"

"Hey guys!" a familiar voice said from behind us.

I turned around, finding myself face to face with an out-of-breath Kazuto, followed by the ever-stoic Xerxes.

"Hey Asuna… Egil… and…" he said, panting between every word.

He looked at Rachida's giant form in amazement.

"Rachida."

"Hey… Rachida. Nice to meet you!"

* * *

(Kazuto)

"Hey… Rachida. Nice to meet you!" I said cheerily, finally recovering from the fatigue of my sprint.

_Huh… I wonder why the Dark Repulser didn't keep me from feeling fatigue…. Maybe it's just because it's drained from the time I spent in the ShadowSand Ruins._

Rachida stretched out his hand. "Well, you know my name, so what's yours?"

"Kazuto Kirigaya, the Asian Representative," I said, taking his hand and giving it a shake.

When he shook back, I felt my whole arm jerk.

"Well, you may know my name, but I should tell you that I'm also the Botswana Representative!" he said as he let go of my hand.

_Wait… does that mean I might have to _fight_ this guy?!_

"That's pretty cool! I look forward to seeing you fight!" I said with false cheer.

_So I can figure out how to beat you._

"You too, man. I wanna see the famous Yami no Keshin's dual-wielding style!"

_Just when I thought I was free of that name…_

"Well, let's go check in so we can see the one we face first!" Egil said, starting to walk further ahead.

"Right!" Rachida and I shouted in unison, pumping our fists into the air.

_Why do I get so enthusiastic around these guys?_

Once we checked in, we went to the training room to, well, train. However, when we got there, we came across a rather… unusual sight.

"You'd better let me win!" someone yelled, making the person he yelled at run away in tears.

_What the hell?_

"I'm sorry, but did I just hear something that sounded like a violation of the League of Blades rulebook?" I said angrily, walking towards the teenage boy who yelled.

"And just who the hell are you?" the snotty teen asked.

"Kazuto Kirigaya, the _Asian Representative_," I spat back.

"Well, it looks like we'll be seeing each other very soon. We'll settle our differences in the first match."

And with that, he walked off, leaving me fuming.

"Don't let it get to you. He does that to all of the African country reps, and you get to snuff it out in the first round, apparently," Egil reassured me.

"Who is that guy, anyway?"

"That's Anpu, the Egyptian Representative. His father is the leader of one of the biggest gangs in Africa, and he's got branches of it in almost every African country. He blackmails all the contestants that he might be fighting into purposefully losing the matches. If they don't comply, his gang will kill their families," Rachida said solemnly.

"Kazuto?" Egil said, his voice quivering.

"Yeah, Egil?"

"Make sure and kick his ass as hard as you can for me!"

"Wha—"

"Egil was the only one that didn't comply with his demands in the last tournament. Egil won, but…"

"His gang killed my wife."

_That's awful!_

"All right then! I can't forgive him either! I'll kick his ass straight to the moon and back!" I declared, giving a thumbs up.

As I walked onto the tournament mat, I tried to control my anger, with minimal success.

_This guy is going down. Hard._

I took in his weapon choice, already working out its strengths and weaknesses in my head.

Strangely, he chose to use a pair of blood-red scythes, which would hinder his movement as well as speed. However, they would be perfect for catching my Dark Repulser's tip, so I would have to be careful when I strike with it.

**_Three…_**

"I hope you like the taste of dirt, Kazuto."

**_Two…_**

"And I hope your weapon can take being hit by a shockwave."

**_One…_**

"Wait, what do you mean by th—"

**_GO!_**

I charged immediately after the signal, appearing before him in a blur and catching him off guard.

I slashed with the Dark Repulser, creating a shockwave that sent him flying straight off of the tournament mat and onto the ground.

**_And Anpu has fallen off of the mat! That means that he is disqualified, and Kazuto Kirigaya is the w—_**

"Not yet! I refuse to lose to you!" Anpu yelled, getting back up and charging at me.

"Just great… COME AT ME BRO! KURAAAAGH!"

I blocked or dodged every sloppy strike he made. He was so enraged that he couldn't even think straight, let alone land a hit on me.

"Stay still and let me hit you!" he shouted, in a rage.

"As if!"

I decided that I didn't need to play around with him anymore, and so I slashed straight through his right scythe with my black sword as if it were butter.

_Heh. This sword has one hell of an ability. It can cut through _anything_ that it comes into contact with._

"What the hell?!" Anpu screamed.

I smirked.

_Left-_

His left scythe was cut cleanly in two. I backed off and slashed the air with the Dark Repulser, knocking him to the edge of the mat.

"RAAAAGH!"

I ran at him, and before he even had time to get up, I had the Dark Repulser to his neck and said, "Will you admit defeat _now_?"

"I-I lost… twice…"

I smiled, getting up and walking to my exit as the crowd cheered my name. As I exited the inner arena, I heard the referee begin to reprimand Anpu.

_Apparently they hate their own Rep. Well, he _is_ the son of a gang lord._

* * *

When I got out into the lobby, I found Asuna waiting for me.

"Kazuto, that was so amazing!" she exclaimed.

"Tell me about it!" Rachida chimed in, walking up next to her. "You didn't even break a sweat!"

"Oh, so you noticed."

He donned a serious expression. "By the way, are those the swords of wind and earth?"

"What?"

Egil walked up from behind me, saying, "Remember when I told you that the Dark Repulser was the sword of wind? Well, your other new sword, the Elucidator, is the sword of earth."

"Oh, I see."

Asuna, tired of being ignored, blurted, "Egil, Rachida, don't you need to train for your matches?"

"Well, I guess so…?" Rachida said, though it sounded like a question.

"Yeah, she's right. Let's go train, Rachida," Egil said, grabbing Rachida's arm and leading him to the training rooms.

Just before he left my line of sight, I saw him give us a wink.

I slouched over in exasperation.

_Just great… he thinks that we're a couple too?_

I looked over at Asuna, noting the slight blush that stained her face, as well as an angry pout.

_Wow, that pout looks kinda cute… wait, what the he—_

"So, where do we go now?" Asuna queried, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Uh… we can go back to the café, I guess. I'm starving."

Asuna sighed in what I took to be exasperation.

"What?" I queried.

"Nothing, nothing."

"Well, whatever. Let's just go get something to—" I didn't get to finish my sentence, as the sound of an explosion coming from the inner arena nearly broke my eardrums.

"What the hell was—?!"

Yet again, I was cut off, but this time by Asuna pulling me as fast as she could towards the source of the noise.

_When the _hell_ did she become so fast?!_

When we got to the stands, I noticed a girl about my age with wavy shoulder-length lavender hair, wielding a giant iron sword alit by lilac flames. She stood above a heavily-injured participant, her flaming sword just inches from his face. However, the most disturbing thing was…

_Why is she smiling? Wait a second, is she going to—?!_

I forsook all thought processes, running through the stands, jumping into the inner arena and running to them just in time to block a strike that would've ended the poor participant's life.

Her smile instantly turned into a scowl. "What the hell are you defending a Remotian for, you idiot?!"

"What?"

When I turned around, I noticed the man had turned into a hideous beast almost identical to the Xerxes impostor.

I gritted my teeth, readying myself for combat.

"I'm not fighting two of you! I'm out!"

And with that, the beast ran away at top speed, reaching the exit in seconds.

"Just wait! When we return, you'll all die!"

Just as I began to run after it, the lavender-haired girl put her hand on my shoulder.

"Don't. We have a tournament to finish, Kazuto-chi."

I sighed in resignation. "You're right, but… what if he comes back with reinforcements?"

"We'll deal with that when the time comes."

_Wait a second… Kazuto-chi? Then this is…!_

I turned around, shock overcoming my face.

"Are you… Strea?"

"You remembered me!"

She took my hand and led me out of the inner arena, into the training rooms.

"So… what are you doing at the African Bracket, Strea?" I queried, remembering how she used to be.

_She used to be so frail, and now she's in the African Bracket… wielding a giant two-handed sword, no less! What happened?_

"I should be asking you the same thing, Kazuto-chi!" Strea countered.

"Well, I decided to stop messing around with sword fighting and get serious… and it landed me in the Asian Bracket. Then, well… I'm guessing that you already figured out how that went," I said, rubbing my neck in embarrassment.

I remembered what I was thinking a few seconds prior. "Wait, why are _you_ in the African Bracket? You were weak and frail when I last saw you! Did something happen when you were in… Australia…? Wait, don't tell me…"

"Yup! I'm the Australian Rep now! If you win your match in the next round, then we'll fight each other in the semi-finals!" Strea said cheerily. "Oh, and about the weak and frail thing… when I found this sword, it healed my condition!" she finished, holding out her once-flaming sword.

_And that makes perfect sense_. I fought the urge to facepalm.

"Which reminds me, wasn't that sword on _fire_ just a few minutes ago?" I queried incredulously.

"You have two legendary swords, don't you? I see the swords of wind and earth on your back. You should've been able to tell that this sword is on their level _because_ it was on fire," Strea replied.

"I guess so… wait, what element is it? It was on fire, but the flames were purple. Is it of fire or darkness?" I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me.

"Well, it's actually a _combination_ of fire and darkness. That said, its powers are strong when the elements are fused, but considerably weaker when used separately. It's not actually one of the original legendary blades, but it was created hundreds of years ago to try to emulate their power. The original legendary blades were all one-handed weapons, and they each had control of only one element," Strea explained.

"Wait, how do you know all of this?"

"Well, I know most of it from my dad, who took me to Australia to look for one of the legendary blades."

I looked to the ground, falling deep in thought.

_Well, her dad _is_ an archaeologist but how would he have gotten info on those things? Maybe he's traveling with Strea. If he is, he might be able to tell me more about my new swords._

"Hey, is your dad traveling with you by any chance?"

"No, sorry. He's back in Australia, looking for one of the legendary swords," she said dejectedly.

"It's okay, you don't have to get sad about it. If you don't mind my asking, which sword is he looking for?"

"The sword of fire."

_I see…_

"Well anyway, I presume that that was your match?" I said.

"Yup! Hey, wanna go sightseeing with me? It's been forever since we've seen each other, and there are some places I really want to go!" she said, sounding a little overenthusiastic.

Yet again, I fought the urge to facepalm.

_Always thinking about what _she_ wants to do. Then again, she probably has a hidden motive, judging by the way she said it… I might as well go, seeing as we _do_ have some catching up to do, and I do have a few questions for her._

"Sure."

When we walked back into the lobby, I found an angry Asuna waiting for me.

Once she spotted me, she immediately ran over to me, yelling, "Where the _hell_ is your common sense?! Why would you do that?! You could've gotten yourself _killed_!"

She then looked over to Strea, who stood beside me with a smile on her face.

"W-why is she here?"

"Oh, this is Strea, my childhood friend. She also happens to be the Australian Representative," I replied.

"She nearly _killed_ a man, Kazuto! Sure, he turned out to be a Shifter, but…"

"Actually, I knew that he was what you call a Shifter the whole time. Their race is technically known as Remotian, by the way."

"Well anyway, Strea and I are going sightseeing, so if you don't mind, could you just wait for us at Egil's café? We might be a while."

"Fine, whatever…" Asuna said blankly, walking away.

_She sounded pissed._

I looked to Strea. "Well, shall we go now?"

* * *

The streets of the tournament grounds were filled with merchants selling souvenirs from places all over Africa.

As we walked through the streets, I turned to Strea, determined to figure out her real reason for bringing me sightseeing.

"So… what's your real motive for bringing me out of the arena? I know it's not just to go sightseeing," I said in a low tone, my eyes narrowing.

"Sharp as ever… lean in so I can whisper it in your ear."

I leaned towards her, waiting.

"We're going to find that Remotian's base. I placed a tracing spark in him just before you came to block me, so we're going to use my sword as a homing device to find its base."

"So you never meant to kill it?" I queried.

"Yeah, it'd be a lot more efficient to use it to locate the enemy base and kill everyone there than it would be to just kill it by itself back there in the arena."

"I see," I replied. "Wait, how would you have been able to wipe out their entire base by yourself? I know you must be really strong now, but most of the Representatives wouldn't stand a chance against even _one_ of them. There's no way you could do it."

"Well, you're probably right. The thing is, I have you with me now, and you have _two legit_ legendary swords."

"And so I get sucked into another one of your crazy plans…"

"Just like the old days, right, Kazuto-chi?"

"Yeah, just like the old days, Strea-baka."

* * *

After another hour of walking through dark alleys, we finally arrived in a spot that held promise.

In the middle of the dark alley we were standing in, a giant black spiral pattern with strange symbols on its outer ring just floated in the air.

_A… portal…? What is it doing here?_

Strea immediately ran towards it, forcing me to run after her.

_Wait, that pattern is… NO!_

"STREA! STOP!"

Too late.

She disappeared into the portal, leaving me alone in the alley.

"No… NO!"

I ran in after her.

The alleyway had instantly changed into a pitch black area with no walls, no sky, and no ground.

_Wait… no ground?!_

And then I was freefalling through what seemed to be a bottomless pit, seeing nothing but black. When I tried to scream, no sound came out.

Then, I saw a different sky all around me, with violet clouds and blue lightning. When I looked down, I saw a ravaged land. Any trace of a building had been eradicated, every tree in sight had no leaves, as if they had all died and been petrified. All of the rivers flowed with lava…

_This… is Hell. Somehow… I just know it._

I continued to fall, but I couldn't have cared less. All I cared about was finding Strea somewhere on the ground.

As the ground grew closer, I noticed countless species of reptilian demons.

_What the?! I really _am_ in Hell!_

I could see the ground getting closer and closer. I started to count down to when I would land and die.

"Ten, nine, eight, seven, six—"

_Please be okay, Strea…_

I resumed the count, but just as I hit one…

"AAAAAH! STREA!" I screamed, my eyes snapping open in fear.

_Was it just… a dream?_

I got up and looked around, finding myself in an alleyway.

_No… it couldn't have been real… wait! Where's the portal?_

I looked over to where I had first seen the portal, finding nothing there.

_It's not there?! It disappeared! Then… how do I get to Strea?!_

"STREA!"

I ran as fast as I could in the direction the portal was, finding nothing but a dead end. When I turned around, I saw another Shifter, a sadistic smirk on its hideous face.

"You… you deactivated the portal… didn't you?" I said darkly, drawing my swords.

"C-come on, it was just a joke! Your friend is fine!"

"I won't believe any of the crap you Shifters give me! I'll kill you!"

I ran at him faster than I had ever run before, appearing in front of him in a blur and slashing him to pieces in an instant.

I walked past him.

_That confirms it… Strea is stuck in Hell._

The walk back to Egil's café was a long one—not so much because of the distance, but more because of my slow pace.

_It's my fault… I should've tried harder to stop her._

When I finally did arrive at the café, I found several people waiting with worried looks on their faces. Asuna looked nearly sick with worry.

"Baka! It's midnight! We were all worried!"

Making no affirmation that I heard her, I weakly uttered, "Hey guys…"

_Why did my voice crack?_

For the first time since I had begun the trek back to the café, I noticed how blurry my vision was. I brought my hand up to my eyes.

"I'm… crying?"

"Kazuto! Are you okay?"

I didn't respond, instead choosing to go right past her and up the stairs, towards the guest room.

As soon as I entered the room, I ran and flung myself onto the bed, letting my tears fall freely.

_No… crying won't get her back! I won't give up on her! I'll win this tournament and find a way to get her back!_

I drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

When I woke up three hours later, I decided to go outside and take a walk. Of course, I didn't forget my swords. The city _is_ filled with Shifters.

_I can't believe I slept for three hours… I thought for sure that I wouldn't sleep that long, with all the things on my mind…_

Which brought me back to thinking about Strea.

_Why didn't I try harder to stop her?_

I shook my head vigorously, trying to get rid of my angst-y thoughts.

_No, no, NO! Mourning over her won't get her back! I just have to figure out a way to get her out of there! The question is whom to ask for advice… not Asuna, I have a feeling she's jealous of Strea already… not Rachida, he wouldn't know anything about it… maybe Egil? Maybe, but he just _loves_ to be mysterious, so even if he _did_ know about it, he probably wouldn't tell me._

"I didn't expect for you to be out for a walk at 3:30 in the morning. What troubles you, Kazuto Kirigaya?" asked a man from behind me.

I turned around, finding myself face to face with Xerxes.

"Xerxes? What're you doing out this late— err, early?" I queried.

_Somehow, I can tell that this is the real Xerxes._

"I should be asking you the same question."

"Don't answer my question with a question," I said, growing irritated.

"Don't get agitated. I was only going for a walk, same as you."

"I see…" I replied. "Hey Xerxes… do you know of any way to get to Hell? One of my friends got stuck there without dying, and… I want to get her back."

"I do, but… you need to win the tournament first."

_"What?! Why?!"_

"I'll explain. The prize for the tournament this year is a very special item that allows for dimensional travel. Very few people know about this. Once you win the tournament, I'll tell you how to use it."

"You act as if you know I'll win."

"You can, and you will. There is only one person whom I believe has a chance at beating you," Xerxes said, his tone getting darker as he spoke.

"Who is that?"

"Heathcliff, the Representative for England of the United Kingdom. He was the winner of the last world tournament, and he beat a three-time champion to attain that title."

I took a moment to think. "I heard about him. People say that he just sprang to fame overnight, that he just suddenly appeared and started winning tournaments."

"That's correct. No one knows anything about his background other than he supposedly has a beautiful and powerful daughter that travels a lot."

Before I knew it, we had walked to the pyramid arena. No one was walking around the streets, and silence filled the air.

"Wow. I didn't even know that we had walked here," I said, breaking the silence. "Hey Xerxes, want to go train?"

"Very well."

The only person at the arena other than us was just the person we needed to see: the training room guard.

Once we checked in and were on the way to the training rooms, I thought about something.

_Wait… the guard acted as if he had never seen what happened yesterday._

"Hey Xerxes… did you hear the explosion that happened in the arena yesterday?"

"Yes. It was a Shifter, correct?"

"Then… why does everyone act like it never happened?"

Silence.

"You know, it's okay if you don't want to answer, I was just—"

"No, I'll tell you. Normal humans… their minds can't handle the presence of the Shifters. They can't comprehend them, so their minds develop a scenario that fits the situation without alluding to the Shifter's presence. Their minds then accept that scenario as reality."

_Wow… that's really weird…_

"Well, let's go train."

Five minutes later, we were in the middle of a battle, neither side giving way to the other.

_Left, diagonal up, down, up, cleave, spin, jab, parry—_

"You've improved!" Xerxes yelled over the sound of my blades clashing against his shield.

_Sidestep, down, up, up, parry, diagonal spin—_

"So have you!" I yelled as we hit a deadlock.

_Wait a second, why isn't the Elucidator cutting through his shield and sword?_

As if reading my mind, Xerxes said, "The weapons I currently have are enchanted with an ability called _Ultimate Defense_, which makes them unbreakable. Your Elucidator has the _Ultimate Offense_, which allows it to cut through anything without the _Ultimate Defense_ or _Ultimate Offense_ abilities."

"I see!"

I then remembered something very important.

_Crap! If anyone is awake back at the café, then they'll start looking for me! I have to go back!_

I jumped back from the deadlock. "Xerxes, I have to go back. They don't know I left, so if one of them wakes up, they'll probably start looking for me."

Xerxes sheathed his sword behind his back, saying, "I'll accompany you, then. I have reason to speak with Egil."

"Okay."

While we walked to Egil's café, I immersed myself deep in thought.

_Why would Xerxes want to meet up with Egil? Well, Xerxes did answer a few of my questions, so maybe I could ask him a few more._

"Hey, Xerxes?"

"Yes, Kazuto?"

"Why do you need to speak to Egil?" I queried, hoping to get a straight answer.

"Let's just call it… a meeting of the minds. Something is happening. Something _bad_."

He began to walk ahead, forcing me to walk faster to keep up.

_Well, _that_ failed._

Once we reached the café, Xerxes turned to me and said, "You should go get some sleep. It's four in the morning right now, and another two hours of sleep would be good for you."

"All right. Good night, Xerxes."

I walked up to the guest room and collapsed on the bed, immediately falling into another dreamless sleep.

* * *

(Xerxes)

As I walked in the café, I noticed Egil sitting in a chair behind the bar table. He looked at me with a dark look, saying, "Xerxes."

"Egil."

"If you've come here, it can only mean one thing."

I sat down, watching as he poured me a beer.

"Yes. After sixteen years, _he_ is finally awakening."

* * *

(Kazuto)

I awoke to the sound of an alarm that I didn't set.

I turned and looked at the clock at my nightstand, which somehow wasn't the source of the noise.

_Six o'clock…? Who the hell gets up at—_

"That's right, the tournament!" I heard someone shout.

The noise stopped.

"Huh?"

I turned around to find Rachida rubbing his neck in embarrassment. "Sorry, did my alarm wake you up?"

"That was _your_ alarm?" I asked, irritated.

"Ehehe… sorry. But hey, it's almost time to leave for the second round! Aren't you glad it woke you up?" Rachida said lightly.

"Nope, not in the slightest," I replied, laying back down.

_Wait a second… THE TOURNAMENT!_

"That's right! Round two of the tournament starts in two hours!" I shouted.

"That's basically what I just said, man."

"Shut up, I'm sleepy," Asuna mumbled from a semi-conscious state.

"Well, it looks like everyone is awake! Let's get ready and head out!" a deep voice said from the doorway.

I looked towards the source, finding the one and only dark-skinned giant axe-wielder and African Representative, Egil.

"Hey," I grumbled.

"That's no attitude to be taking with me, Kazuto!" Egil declared. When he saw my startled look, he quickly added, "Hahaha, I'm just joking!"

I sighed in relief. My earlier loss against him had not been forgotten, and so I still found myself slightly intimidated by him.

I got up, saying, "I get the bathroom first."

Once I entered the bathroom, I immediately got in the shower.

Soon, I had fallen deep in thought.

_No one needs to know what happened to Strea. I don't want them helping me. It's something I must bear alone._

I began to think about the tournament.

_I never got a look at the tournament match bracket. I'll have to look at that when I get there. But… what if I have to fight Egil this round? I'm not sure I'm ready, considering I can't use _that_…_

"Hey, you about done in there? Asuna is going _crazy_ waiting to put her makeup on!" Rachida yelled from the other side of the door.

"Tell her to hold on, and that I'll be right out!"

I began washing as fast as I could, hoping to avoid her anger.

_Just you wait, Strea, Sachi. I'll save you for sure._

As soon as I opened the bathroom door, Asuna came rushing past me and into the bathroom, pushing me out and shutting the door behind her.

_I have a feeling she needed to do more than just put on makeup!_

* * *

Thirty minutes later, we were all about to head out to the pyramid arena, when I saw Xerxes behind a tree in the distance, hiding in the shadows.

He gestured for me to come over to him.

_I can't tell if this Xerxes is the real deal from this distance, I need to get a closer look._

"Guys, I'm going ahead!" I shouted, beginning to do just that.

Once I got to him, I slowed down to a walk, with him falling into step behind me.

_This vibe… I think he's a Shifter. I might as well play along, though._

"So, what did you want to talk to me about, Xerxes?" I asked with feigned ignorance.

"We'll talk somewhere more secluded."

"Screw that! I'm not falling for the same trick twice!"

"But you were the one that said it last time— oh, shit."

"Gotcha! Now, I'll let you off without killing you if you leave now. Oh, and that goes for _all_ of you." I said, gesturing to all of the Shifters that I had just detected.

"You're a cocky little bastard, aren't you?" the Xerxes impostor said as he transformed, his voice growing deeper and more raspy.

The rest of the Shifters emerged from their hiding places, already fully transformed. Soon enough, I was surrounded by seven of the beasts.

I drew my swords, already feeling the vengeful bloodlust building up inside me.

_These guys… their stupid portal took Strea! I'll destroy all of them here RIGHT NOW!_

I sent a shockwave towards three of them, knocking them into the trees. Three more came from my right, but I was ready.

_Let's test this out, shall we?_

"Earthen Spikes!"

I jammed the Elucidator into the ground, creating a tremor that sent the three Shifters flying into the air. Then, spikes made of black metal shot out of the ground under them, impaling them in their hearts. The spikes branched off, impaling them in other vital areas, as well as piercing the three in the trees.

When I retracted the Elucidator from the earth, the spikes fell back into the earth, along with the bodies.

The one Shifter left just so happened to be the second Xerxes impostor, and he had apparently not been affected by the tremor at all.

"Is that it, kid?" it replied, charging at me.

I smirked.

"Shadow Step."

"What the f—" he started, coming to a halt.

The area around us instantly became covered in a dense, black fog that only I could see through, because of the magic of the Dark Repulser. In an instant, I had moved in front of him, slashing him endlessly until he was nothing more than diced meat.

I walked towards the stadium, sheathing my swords.

_Too easy._

* * *

Somehow, despite the holdup, I still made it to the stadium before everyone else, getting there right at 7:30.

Behind me, I heard the voices of my friends calling to me. I turned around to find them running to catch up.

"How… how… how did you get here so fast? You're like lightning!" Rachida panted, falling into step beside me.

"Huh?"

"N-nothing."

"No, I'm serious. What are you talking about?"

"Oh, look! There's the arena! Let's go check the bracket setup!"

I sighed. _I guess I'll let it go for now._

Several minutes later, we had all gathered at the area where the bracket setup was being shown.

_Thank god none of them asked about Strea on the way here. I'm not sure I can handle it yet._

When I saw whom I had to face, my blood ran cold. _I have to face… Rachida? But he's _huge_! And his sword is almost as big as he is!_

"Yo! Looks like we're going to be facing each other this round! Cool!" Rachida said happily.

_I have a feeling that this'll be a _long_ match…_

Egil chose this time to speak up, saying, "Whoa, look at the time! We have to check in at the participants' area!"

"Right!" Rachida and I shouted.

Thirty minutes later, we were ready to go. Rachida and I had made it a point not to spar against _each other_, just so the real fight would be more of a challenge. That didn't mean we didn't watch each other spar with the _other_ participants (or, in my case, a training robot).

I heard an announcement blare from the speaker in the training room, telling me and Rachida to go to the tournament mat.

_Well… this is it._

"Ready?" I asked Rachida.

"Always," he responded, holding his fist out, which I met with my own.

When we parted ways to head to the opposite sides of the arena, I began to contemplate how I would beat him.

_His weapon is a giant sword like Strea's, but he holds it in one hand. That would usually make for a really awkward style that could easily be beaten, but the fact that he's a Representative says otherwise. The problem I've seen while watching him fight is that he changes his style for every person he fights. I've noticed six distinct styles that he uses, but he modifies each one to fit whom he's fighting. Aaagh! This is so hard!_

By that point in my plotting, I had already reached the entrance to the inner arena, where the fighting would take place.

_Looks like I'll just have to trust my instincts._

I walked onto the mat, eyeing Rachida closely. I noticed something different in his eyes, something… dark. It was as if he had became a completely different person on the inside, very different from when I watched him spar with the other participants.

_This is _not_ gonna be easy. Then again, that's one of the reasons I entered this tournament._

"No hard feelings, Kazuto, but you're going _down_."

"I hope you can forgive me when you get annihilated."

**_Three…_**

We locked eyes, taking in the passion that dwelled under their surfaces.

**_Two…_**

We put some distance between each other, tensing our muscles for combat. Never once did our eyes falter.

**_One…_**

We got into sprinting positions, readying ourselves to run at top speed.

**_GO!_**

We charged, getting to each other in a fraction of a second and clashing without end.

_Left, up, up, block, dodge, diagonal down, diagonal spin, upward X—_

Every attack that went his way got blocked, and vice versa.

He swung his sword down over my head, forcing me to block with both of my swords in a cross.

"You're… pretty good!" Rachida strained out.

"… Likewise!"

I diverted his sword to the ground, making a crater that knocked both of us off balance.

_What a powerful sword! It could even stand up to the Elucidator's Ultimate Offense!_

I recovered first, jumping back and charging in again. He dislodged his sword from the ground just in time to block my Elucidator, but my Dark Repulser made a tiny scratch on his arm.

He faltered, if only for a split second.

_I can break through!_

I began a full-scale assault, each strike getting faster and stronger than the last.

_Left, left, sidestep, double diagonal down, parry, double up—_

I sent him flying into the air, following up with a shockwave slash from the Dark Repulser to knock him even higher.

Remembering my fight with my clone, I jumped into the air, and in seconds I was right in front of him.

_Flip spin—_

I sent him careening to the ground. When he landed, a tremor shook the earth. I sent a shockwave slash from my Dark Repulser down on him, and when he tried to block it, he was forced to his knees as a crater formed underneath him, catching him off balance.

I landed gracefully behind him.

"Is that all you've got?!" we shouted at each other in unison.

We turned around, locking eyes once more. In our eyes, we saw exactly what we wanted to see.

_Not even close._

We charged at each other again, blades meeting in an endless struggle of need—the need to _win_, to _advance_, to _prove ourselves_, and so much more.

_Spin, left, left, jab, upward flip spin—_

My flip spin sent him reeling backwards. I jumped back, tensing to charge back in.

_Faster! Stronger! Better! I can still get better!_

I began to charge at him once again, and as if on cue, my body and swords responded, taking my speed to new heights, even by my own standards.

_Left, left, diagonal spin, parry, double down, upward X, double down, block—_

He made another overhead swing, and I redirected it to the ground. Just before a crater formed, I jumped back and out of the way.

With his sword still lodged in the ground, I ran at him, trying to get to him before he could get his sword dislodged from the ground.

Unfortunately, luck was not on my side. Just as my sword got within _centimeters_ of his neck, his giant sword appeared to block it and send me flying back.

"Don't think I'm finished yet!" Rachida shouted angrily.

_It's like he's a completely different person!_

"All right then! Let's push it to the limit! RAAAAAAGH!"

I ran at him at top speed, appearing before him in a blur and batting his sword to the side. I slid under him and made a slash upward, only for it to be dodged.

_Damn, he recovered that fast? Wait, where did he go?!_

I looked around, finding nothing but the battered ground, as most of the mat had been completely decimated.

Then, I realized something obvious. _If he's not around me, then he must be… above me?!_

I looked up, and sure enough, I saw him freefalling towards me with his sword pointed downward.

_Shit!_

I moved out of the way just in time to avoid getting impaled.

"Are you trying to kill me?!" I shouted.

He didn't respond, instead choosing to charge at me with his sword raised high above his head.

_All right, THAT'S ENOUGH!_

Without thinking, I charged at him faster than ever before. My swords began to glow, the Dark Repulser white, and the Elucidator black.

"KURAAAAAH!"

He brought his sword down.

I swung mine up.

The sound of cracking metal could be heard throughout the arena.

I broke his sword.

And with that, the fire disappeared from his eyes, and the glow of my swords faded.

**_Because Rachida's weapon has been broken, he is disqualified! Kazuto Kirigaya, the Asian Representative, is the winner!_**

The crowd cheered furiously, but none so louder than Asuna, who sat in the front row VIP seating.

"That… was one hell of a battle, eh, Kazuto?" Rachida said in between panting, finishing off with a laugh.

"B-but I broke your sword! Shouldn't you be a little more mad at me?"

"Nah, it's cool. I have more of those at home. Plus, I got to see an _amazing_ sight today!"

"What's that?"

"It's a secret."

"Oh, come on!"

"Nope, not telling!" Rachida teased.

"God, you're just like a kid!"

"Says the one who was pestering me to tell you!"

"Touché."

"Well, I'd better get packing. See ya later, Kazuto!" Rachida said, beginning to head towards Egil's café.

"Wait!"

"What is it?"

"Thanks. That was a great battle."

"Haha, no problem! Well, I'd best be off!" Rachida replied.

He walked out of the inner arena.

_Somehow… I feel like I'll see him again someday, after the tournament._

I walked out of the other side, finally realizing who would stand before me in the end.

_Egil was at the other end of the bracket, which means I have to fight him in the final round!_

The best word to describe me? Scared.

_Well, I'll have to beat the other semi-finalist before I have to worry about that, so… let's focus on one thing at a time._

* * *

(Rachida)

As I walked into the lobby, I met up with Egil, just as planned.

"You saw it, didn't you?" I asked him.

"Yeah. Let's go back to the training rooms to talk."

"Right."

The walk to the training rooms was a silent one.

_I can't believe that kid is… no, I can't be sure yet._

Once we arrived at the training rooms, Egil said, "Well, it's been a long time since we've been alone together like this, hasn't it?"

"Yes, too long. But that isn't the point. You said you saw it, the way his swords glowed black and white. That can only mean one thing."

"Yes. The Seed of Chaos is awakening, and with that, so will _he_."

I faltered. When I recovered, I said, "So what will we do?"

"It isn't our fight anymore, you know that. It's up to the next generation."

"I guess so… hey Egil?"

"Yes?"

I voiced my concern. "They'll succeed, won't they? We barely succeeded last time, and they're a bunch of kids.,"

"That… is up to them."

* * *

(Kazuto)

When I got to the lobby, I found Asuna waiting for me, but… no Egil.

"Hey, where's Egil?" I asked.

"Dunno, I lost him on the way here," Asuna said in exasperation.

"I'm sure that Egil is just training for the next match. Let's go back to the café and get something to eat, I'm starving!"

"Okay."

* * *

The walk back to the café was filled with silence.

Growing tired of this, I decided to break it. "So… I heard you're good with a rapier."

"Yeah…"

"Well… wanna spar?"

She turned to look at me with an incredulous expression.

"No way! You're a continental Representative!"

"Yet I lost to the first Shifter I faced, where you apparently won."

Silence.

By the time I thought of something to say, we had already reached the café.

"Hey look, there's Egil's café!"

I sighed in resignation.

When we walked in the door, we were greeted with the sight of Fukayna, but… no Rachida.

"I could have sworn I heard him say he was coming here to pack…" I mumbled.

"What was that?" Asuna queried.

"I-it's nothing."

_Weird… well, I'm really tired, so I think I'll take a… little… nap…_

And with that, I fell to the floor, unconscious.

* * *

_I looked from the distance at an eight-year-old Strea, smiling at a nine-year-old me._

_The child version of me was crying profusely, as if the world was about to end._

_"I'm sorry, Kazuto-chi, but I have to leave. My dad is taking me to Australia. He said he had found a way to help treat my condition that could only be done over there. I promise to send lots and lots of postcards!" the eight-year-old Strea said cheerily._

_"B-but… I love you…"_

_"I know."_

_And with that, the young Strea walked away._

* * *

I sat up straight in bed, gasping for air.

"What… the hell?"

_I…I had loved her… I almost forgot. I wonder if she ever loved me back… well, I'll just have to ask her when I get her back._

Then, I finally noticed the place I had fallen asleep versus the place I had awakened in.

_Why am I in a bed? I fell asleep on the floor… well, maybe Asuna carried me. No, she probably doesn't have the physical body strength to do that._

"It's about time you woke up."

_That voice…_

"Xerxes, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, I just came to talk with Egil, and I found you passed out on the floor with a frantic Asuna beside you, so I decided to carry you to the guest room," Xerxes said nonchalantly.

"Eh… sorry about that."

"It's quite all right. In fact, there's something I wanted to talk to you about," Xerxes said, his tone suddenly changing from impassive to dark and foreboding.

"What is it?" I asked, trying, and failing, not to sound disconcerted.

"You shouldn't go outside this house unless you're going to the tournament. When you do, do _not_ take _any_ detours, no matter what they try to deceive you with. If you do, they will swarm and kill you. This café is protected by a special barrier that was set up long ago. No Shifter can get anywhere near this place without being eradicated by the barrier."

_That explains why the second Xerxes impostor was so far away from the café when I saw him._

"They may transform into a loved one. You have to be sure not to fall for their tricks, especially if they Shift into the girl that got stuck in Hell. There is no way out without utilizing dimensional travel."

_So even if I see Strea, I have to ignore it… knowing that it isn't really her. If I didn't have better judgment, I would go to the impostor just to kill it for impersonating my friend. But… he said they would swarm, which means that they're growing in numbers._

"Got it."

"All right, I must be going. Where I'm going, you may not see me for years. Goodbye, child."

"Goodbye, Xerxes."

As I watched him leave, I contemplated his final words.

_I may not see him for years… I wonder where he's going…_

A drowsiness overtook me, and soon I fell into a deep sleep filled with visions of my childhood with Strea and Sachi.

* * *

When I woke up, I saw Asuna's face right above me, eyes closed.

I blinked.

"What are you doing?" I asked, yawning afterwards.

She immediately jumped back and landed on the ground with a thud. "N-nothing!"

_Whatever._

I got up slowly, looking around.

"What time is it?" I asked.

"Oh, it's almost time to go. I was trying to wake you up, but I got… distracted…" Asuna trailed off, blushing.

_Please tell me this doesn't mean what I think it means…_

"I see. I'm gonna take a shower."

* * *

Once I finished my shower, got dressed, and walked downstairs to the café level, I saw Egil finishing up breakfast.

"It's about time Asuna got you up!" Egil said, finishing up with his trademark hearty laugh.

I lazed over to the table, grabbing a slice of toast and taking a bite.

"Yeah, whatever. She said she got 'distracted,' whatever that means."

Asuna walked down the stairs, coming to sit next to me.

"Well, we'd best get going. It's you and me in the finals, Asian Rep."

I nodded glumly. "Yeah."

"Have some faith in yourself! You've got to give it your all if you want to succeed in your dreams!" Egil scolded.

"Yeah… yeah, you're right. Nothing personal, but I'm gonna take you down, Egil."

"That's the spirit!"

* * *

An hour later, we arrived at the tournament grounds.

"This is it," I said apprehensively.

"That's right, Kazuto. Let's give it our all!"

_He didn't call me Asian Rep. That's gotta mean something._

"Right!"

As I walked up to the tournament mat, I noticed Egil already standing there, looking confident as ever.

"Whatever happens here, you'll always be my friend. All right, Egil?"

"And whatever happens, you'll always be one of the strongest opponents I've ever faced! Now, let's give these onlookers one hell of a match!"

The announcer started to speak, telling the audience the obvious fact that two continental Representatives were about to fight. Then, he started to count down.

**Three…**

We settled into our styles, both tensing our muscles to charge.

**Two…**

We locked eyes, telling each other through eye contact just what we needed to say.

_I'm taking you down._

**One…**

We got into a sprinting position, itching to charge as soon as we heard the word…

**GO!**

We charged simultaneously, weapons hitting each other in a fraction of a second.

"RAAAAAGH!" _CLASH!_

Moving faster than the eye could see, we fought on, sparks and dust flying everywhere.

_Left, right, jab—_

Yet again, one of my swords got caught in Egil's axe.

_Like hell I'm letting this happen again!_

When he tried to throw me up into the air, I held onto my Dark Repulser and stuck to his axe. When he stopped trying, I dislodged my sword from his axe and jumped back, sending shockwaves at him from afar. All they managed to do was send him back a few inches, and so I charged back in.

_Double down—_

I hit his axe hard enough to propel me into the air, striking down on his back in the process of flying.

Blocked.

Twisting in midair and landing facing his back, I charged back in. He turned around just in time to block another flurry of strikes.

_Right, right, dodge, parry, jab—_

He swung his axe down over my head, and I blocked it by putting my swords in an X. I redirected his axe into the ground, and it made an even bigger tremor than Rachida's broadsword.

I jumped back, afraid of his raw power.

_Faster! Stronger!_

I ran into the action again, the world around me becoming a blur. All I could see were our bodies, his axe, and my blades.

_Diagonal down, diagonal down, jumping slash, down, down, double right, diagonal down, diagonal spin, double left—_

He started to falter, unable to keep pace with my blows.

_Diagonal up, diagonal up, jump slash, diagonal down, diagonal spin, downward V, upward X—_

There it was. The opening I had been waiting for. His axe batted aside, and his chest wide open.

I jabbed with the Dark Repulser, and with lightning speed, his axe appeared to block it.

I jumped back, catching my breath.

"Your defensive speed is incredible," I panted.

"And your offensive speed is just as good," he panted back. "But I'm still holding back a bit."

I smirked. "Huh, you too?"

"You see, I have a little something called the Strength OverLimit. Until now, I've only been using it when I absolutely need to, because of its price. But now… I'm going all out!"

He appeared before me in a blur, his muscles twice the size they were a few seconds prior. He hit me in the stomach with the flat of his axe, sending me flying to the edge of the mat.

_Damn, that hurt!_

He charged again, but this time I was prepared. Just before he hit me again, I jumped out of the way, and he flew off of the mat.

_Well, that was anticlimactic._

It was then that I noticed that he hadn't hit the ground. Instead, he stood atop his axe, which was lodged into the wall of the inner arena.

_So it's not over? But how will he get his axe out of the wall without touching the ground?_

He pushed himself off the wall with his feet, holding onto the axe with his hands and dislodging it. He sailed through the air, landing on the tournament mat once more.

_Question answered._

Now that _he_ was on the offensive, it took everything I had to block.

_Damn it, if I don't go faster, I'll be annihilated!_

I dodged an overhead strike by ducking and running under his legs, putting as much distance between us as possible so I could switch back to the offensive.

"You're quick for your size!" I praised.

"Well, thanks!"

Just like that, I switched to the offense again, appearing before him in a fraction of a second and catching him off guard… or so I thought.

_Left, right, right, spin—_

All blocked in showers of sparks.

_Faster… stronger! BETTER! I won't give in yet! I can still get better!_

I jumped back for a split second to catch my breath, then charging back in immediately.

"KURAAAGH!"

_Left, right, right, vertical spin, overhead jump slash—_

Egil was wearing down, I could tell.

_That must be the price of his Strength OverLimit! It must drain his stamina!_

I kept on slashing, increasing in speed with each and every strike I made.

_Left, up, down, down, diagonal spin, left, left, thrust, uppercut—_

Yet again, his axe went flying upwards. I took the chance to jab with the Elucidator, and when he tried to bring his axe down to block, I caught it with the Dark Repulser. The jab connected with his cheek, and then I held my sword to his neck.

We stood there, and everything was silent.

**"And Kazuto Kirigaya is the winner!"**

The crowd cheered with such ferocity that it made my ears ache.

"Do they hate you or something?" I asked, pointing to the boisterous crowd.

"No, it's just that they're glad that I lost for once. Before this, I won the African Bracket three times in a row."

"So… I just beat a three-time champion?"

"Pretty much!"

We walked out of the inner arena side by side, me listening with genuine interest to him tell me about the final rounds of his last three African Brackets.

* * *

Once we got to the lobby, I saw Asuna run up to us.

"That was an amazing battle!" she exclaimed.

I rubbed my neck in embarrassment. "It wasn't that awesome…"

"Like hell!" Egil shouted, earning the attention of everyone in the lobby. "You're one of the strongest opponents I've ever faced!"

_One of them, eh?_

"Out of curiosity, who was the strongest?" Asuna voiced my next question.

"… Heathcliff. He beat me in under a minute."

I gaped. "Y… you mean to tell me that you made it all the way to the European Bracket?!"

"Yeah, but only one time. That was the last world tournament."

_I see…_

"Well, you have to pack up! Tomorrow, you leave for São Paulo, Brazil!" Egil declared with a smile.

* * *

The next morning, we arrived at the airport with all of our things.

I turned to look at Egil from the ramp leading to the plane entrance.

_Looks like this is it for Africa… I'm kinda sad. I had so many adventures here!_

Noticing my stare, he shouted, "You win this tournament for me, you hear?"

Feeling cheered, I replied, "You don't have to tell me twice!"

I gave him a thumbs up and entered the plane, where Asuna stood waiting.

"Hey, shouldn't Xerxes be coming with us too? I mean, he followed us on the last flight."

I looked at her glumly, saying, "He said that he was going somewhere, and that I might not see him for years."

"… I see."

"Well, let's get to our first class seats!" I said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Yeah!"

An hour later, we were in in the air, Asuna fast asleep.

_Next up, I'm going to South America! Ready or not, here I come!_

* * *

**A/N:**

**Well, that took FOREVER to write! Without this authors' note, this chapter is almost sixteen thousand words long!**

**Anyway, look at all the stuff happening! Kazuto got his signature swords, killed a rip-off of Illfang the Kobold Lord, and so much more!**

**On the subject of Illfang, some of you may be P.O.'d at me for not including the last part of the fight, but… I needed to conserve word count so this chapter didn't get too long (if it isn't already). Seriously, I have the most up-to-date Microsoft Word, and it still takes several seconds for it to save!**

**Anyway, before I start rambling, I need to cut this off. Here's everyone's second least favorite line: the disclaimer:**

**I don't own Sword Art Online or any of the characters/weapons I borrow from it!**

**See ya!**


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